I had a great experience at Pope John Senior High School – MC Kabutey reveals

Ghanaian MC Alfred Kabutey Ocansey, popularly known as ‘MC Kabutey’, has shared fond memories of his time at Pope John Senior High School, describing his boarding school experience as one filled with unforgettable moments, friendships and lessons.

Speaking on The Career Trail Season 4 on Joy Learning TV and Joy News, he recalled how his interest in hockey began at the school, partly because of his mother's own experience with the sport.

According to him, hockey was a big deal at Pope John at the time and was even featured on the school's official prospectus. His mother, who had played the sport at university, was excited when she saw it and made sure he got his own hockey stick.

“I remember we went to town to get a hockey stick. We got a Slazenger fiberglass coated hockey stick,” he recounted.

The stick soon became his ticket into the school hockey team, as some seniors wanted to use it and had to persuade him to join before they could get access to it.

“The seniors wanted to use my stick, so they had to convince me to join the hockey team,” he revealed.

But beyond hockey, MC Kabutey recalled the unusual circumstances surrounding his year group's accommodation when they arrived at the school in 1997. With their assigned house full, some of the first-year students were moved into a room above the administration block, where about 12 to 16 of them shared space with two senior students.

The arrangement earned them the nickname “Administration Top Boys”. They always had food, making them a convenient stop for seniors whenever they were hungry.

“If seniors are hungry, they will come to us. Because they know that those boys there are sorted,” he explained.

Despite the good memories, MC Kabutey admitted that his time at Pope John was not without its difficult moments, particularly the bullying he experienced from senior students.

He explained that his year group was among the first batches from the JHS system to encounter the final groups of O-Level and A-Level students, who were much older and physically stronger.

“The O-Level and A-Level guys... Me, when I was going to secondary school, I didn't have a beard. I had not even seen somebody with a full beard in my house. These guys, they have proper beards. Because they were literally like uncles. You know what I mean? Grown guys, strong guys, solid guys,” he highlighted.

“From the first day at the bathhouse, lining you up and doing ‘sizing’ and all kinds of things, from room to room, to taking our food, and sending us on weeding escapades. I mean, all of that was part of the experience,” he continued.

Although the experience came with its fair share of challenges, MC Kabutey said his years at Pope John remained memorable. He recalled recently reuniting with one of his former seniors, Raymond, at an international conference in Accra, where he was the event host. The two shared a laugh as he reminded Raymond of how much he had bullied him during their school days.

MC Kabutey finally paid tribute to his former schoolmates, particularly the 1999 year group, popularly known as the Pojoba year group.