CEO of Brain Hills International School, Mary Anane Awuku, has revealed that the school began as a simple classroom assignment during her Master of Business Administration studies before growing into one of Ghana’s fast-rising Cambridge institutions.
She made the revelation on The Career Trail, aired on Joy Learning TV and Joy News.
“The school idea came when I was studying my Masters in Business Administration. The option was Entrepreneurial Management,” she said.
She explained that students were tasked to develop a creative business idea that did not yet exist, which pushed her to think deeply about a gap she had experienced as a working mother.
“So along the line, in my second year, there was this course called Innovative Management where we were instructed to come up with something creative, a business idea that didn’t exist,” she noted.
At the time, she said she was married, working in banking, and already thinking about the challenges working parents face when it comes to childcare and school schedules.
“So I thought of education. I had gotten married and I was wondering as a mother and still working in the bank, how I was going to juggle work with children,” she highlighted.
She explained that her research into the education system at the time revealed a major gap in school closing hours, especially for working parents.
“In 2011, there was no school that catered for children beyond 13 hours. Most schools would take children from 7am or 7:30am and by 3:30pm or 5pm, you should have picked up your child,” she pointed out.
Mary added that the reality of working in banking made the situation even more challenging for parents.
“Most banks were closing at 5pm. So if you are asking me to pick up my child at 3:30pm and I have not left work, and I don’t have a driver, what happens?” she questioned.
According to her, that assignment became the foundation of what would later grow into Brain Hill International School, designed to support working parents with extended care hours.
“I wrote about this idea that I would set up an educational institution like this, just for academic purposes,” she underlined.
Years later, after gaining experience as an entrepreneur, she revisited the idea and decided to bring it to life.
“As I started my cleaning company about six years on, I wanted to diversify into something else. I remembered that proposal I wrote in class and decided to put it into practice,” she disclosed.
Mary revealed that the school began in very humble circumstances, operating from a three bedroom house, with only her two children as the first pupils.
“It started as a three-bedroom house. It was not even running as a school at all. I started with my two children,” she revealed.
“I was heavily pregnant with a third, but I said no, I want to do this. So I did. I don’t like excuses. If I put my mind to something, I move,” she added.
Like many entrepreneurs, Mary faced her own share of challenges. The idea of extended school hours initially raised concerns among parents who were unsure about the model.
“Because it was a new model, people were questioning it. A school closing this late, what is going to happen to our children?” she recalled.
Over time, the school gained trust through referrals, consistency, and strong service delivery.
“We went around sharing flyers in institutions just to let them know that this is who we are. So if you are closing late, this is a good place to bring your child so that no matter how late you close, your child would have been fed five times in the day, breakfast, lunch, supper and two snacks,” she recounted.
“It took a while, but after the first term and second term, a few more came in, parents started referring others,” she continued.
Today, what was once just a school project in an MBA classroom stands tall as Brain Hill International School, now a fast-expanding Cambridge institution.
