Twenty-two senior high schools in the Ashanti Region have qualified for the quarterfinals of the ACE Spoken Word Contest after a zonal competition held at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
The qualifiers emerged from a field of 45 public and private schools that competed over three days across nine zones.
18 schools won their matches outright, while four others advanced based on high scores despite losing their respective contests.
The competition, organised by ACE Consult in partnership with the U.S. Embassy, is aimed at strengthening students’ public speaking, poetry performance and critical thinking skills.
Marilyn Owusu, Executive Director of ACE Consult and American Corner Kumasi, said the initiative was introduced in 2024 to address gaps in students’ ability to confidently articulate ideas.
“Many students are intelligent, but self-expression is often a challenge,” Owusu said. “The goal is to build confident, critical thinkers who can think, write and perform under pressure.”
Schools that advanced include SDA Senior High School, Bekwai; Armed Forces Senior High Technical School; KNUST Senior High School; Kumasi Academy; Kumasi High School; Osei Tutu Senior High School.
The rest are, Obuasi Secondary Technical School; and Yaa Asantewaa Girls’ Senior High School, among others.
The Ashanti Regional contest is being conducted in four stages — inter-school contests, quarterfinals, semifinals and finals — with the next round scheduled for February.
Owusu said participation has increased sharply since the competition’s launch, growing from 17 schools in its maiden edition to 45 this year.
She added that a similar contest will be held in Accra in February, with plans to expand nationwide.
Beyond performance training, the contest also exposes students to information on international education opportunities and U.S. scholarship programmes, organisers said.
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