The Story of Albert Valley High School

Albert Valley High School is located in the village of Karugutu in the beautiful Albert Valley of Western Uganda. The area has a long history being part of the Toro kingdom since the 16th Century. In the 1800s some of the early European explorers entered Uganda through the Albert Valley. The area borders on the Semliki National Park and Semliki Wildlife Reserve.

Original Buildings

The school, originally named Albert Valley College, serves the educational needs of the young people from local community and surrounding area including as far away as the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It was started in 2009 by a local NGO with encouragement and some initial donations from donors in the UK.

In January 2013, Classrooms for Africa became aware of the school which at that time offered four years of high school to the approximately 200 students. The land on which the temporary school buildings were situated is owned by the school.

In 2014 representatives from Classrooms for Africa visited the site. Although the school owned the land, the structures were all of very poor quality. The decision was made to promote Albert Valley to our donor base. In June 2014, a grant was made for the construction of five permanent classrooms. In 2016 a grant for a second block of five classrooms was provided. Over the next two years, due to the pressing need for safe accommodation for the out-of-town students, a girls’ and a boys’ dormitory were constructed and improved ablution facilities completed.  In 2019 a kitchen and water harvesting system were built.

Campus showing two classroom blocks 2018

A science block consisting of two laboratories, storage and preparation space is currently being completed and will be ready for the students to use when the school reopens in October.

The school now meets all the requirement of the Ugandan Ministry of Education and has been granted full status as an examination centre for the district.  Enrolment at the school has grown to well over 300 students and the school now offers six years of high school (O-level and A-level). Students have done very well in the national examinations with many graduates are undertaking post-secondary training. 

Well done, Albert Valley High School and many thanks to the faithful donors for making the dream become a reality. We wish the school well as it starts reopening during the pandemic. It have been a very good 8-year journey. Stay safe!

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