Government Secondary School, Owerri
Address
14 Okigwe Road Owerri , Imo State Nigeria
Coordinates	5°29′56″N 7°02′06″E / 5.4989764°N 7.0348961°E / 5.4989764; 7.0348961
Information
Other name	Government College Owerri and GSSO
Type	Public secondary school
Motto	Dirige Nos Domine (Lord, guide us)
Established	1935 (1935)
Staff	The current Senior Principal is Stephen C. Anyikwa
Gender	Boys
Classes	Junior Secondary 1 to 3 and Senior Secondary 1 to 3
Language	English

Government Secondary School, Owerri (referred to as Government College, Owerri or GSSO) is a public boys' English medium secondary school in Owerri, Imo state, Nigeria established formally in 1935.^[1] The school is considered a model Secondary School in the city of Owerri, and due to this, aspiring candidates are required to sit for additional entrance examination after the general state organized Secondary School entrance examination.^[2][3]

Class structure

There are six classes (levels) - Junior Secondary 1 to 3 (JSS 1 to JSS 3) and Senior Secondary 1 to 3 (SS 1 to SS 3). The Junior Secondary levels cover subjects including (but not limited to) English Language, Igbo Language, Mathematics, Agricultural Science, Introductory Technology, Social Studies, and Christian Religious Knowledge (CRK). The Senior Secondary levels cover subjects such as English Language, Igbo Language, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Agricultural Science, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Geography, Government, Literature in English, etc.

The school uniform is a white short-sleeved shirt with a thin sky-blue strip/line around the sleeve and collar, and across the breast pocket. The junior students wear a pair of sky-blue shorts while the senior students wear pair of trousers of the same color.

The after-school dress code^[4] is a pink shirt with blue strip/line around the sleeve and collar and across the breast pocket and a dark-blue shorts.

Inter-house sports

Between 1980 and 1985, the school had ten dormitories, which were called Houses. They were named B House, Njemanze House, New House, Pyke-Knott House, Owerri House, E House, School House, Erekosima House, D House, and Azikiwe House. Pyke-Knott and Erekosima Houses were named after two erstwhile Principals of the school. Owerri House was named in honour of the city. Njemanze is the name of the royal family of Owerri.^[5] Azikiwe, of course, was named after Zik, the first President of Nigeria. These Houses competed against each other during the inter-house sports competitions, which featured field and track events.

Inter-house sports competitions traditionally hold with the age-long home-coming/reunion of the Old boys, every first weekend in March.

School Anthem

Remember where you come from

Wherever you may chance to go

Uphold your supremacy to do or to die for the right.

Our alma mater and our country

We shall always hold them dear

For the Lord will surely bless thee, good G.S.S.O^[6]

Old Boys' Association

Past students of Government Secondary School, Owerri refer to themselves as "Ogssians". The Old Boys' Association has a national structure coordinating branch groups' activities and class sets. There is a notable presence of these groups in the US, UK, and European countries. The groups offer infrastructure, educational materials, and sports equipment, donate to the school or hold motivational talks to positively inspire current students.

Notable alumni

• C. J. Obasi, film director, screenwriter and editor
• Samuel Okoye, astrophysicist

See also

• List of schools in Nigeria

References