The KNUST Great Hall erupted with loud cheers and wild jubilations after Osei Tutu Senior High School clinched the ultimate title at the 2025 edition of the ACE Spoken Word competition.
The boys in white-and-blue striped shirts showcased exceptional dexterity in a fierce battle against three other competing schools from the Ashanti region.
The Wesleyan boys from Akropong lived by their slogan “Abrempon, Akese” and handed a painful defeat to their compatriots from Yaa Asantewaa Girls’ SHS, KNUST SHS and Kumasi Academy.
They dominated in all the three rounds of the grand finale of the contest, gaping the three schools at the end of each round to affirm their determination to whisk away the ultimate prize.
The final contest commenced with the four finalists battling in a theatrical delivery of a spoken word on the theme: “Promoting civil responsibility through volunteerism”.
Each school employing diverse stage props grasped the audience’s attention to assimilate the orgasmic display of their poetry recital, advocating the essence of responsible citizenship for transformation and national development.
The second round of the contest saw the schools answer general questions and the identification of some literary devices used in a short poem.
The final round was yet another spectacle of poetry brilliance as the contestants were challenged to produce an on-the-spot poetic piece on a random topic.
As if that wasn’t enough for the boys to prove their mettle, they threw the crowd into a frenzy with their solemn poetry recital after the schools were only given 7 minutes to scribble a convincing piece.
At the end of the contest, the Abrempon won the competition with 384 points, the Academicians of Kumasi Academy followed in second position with 372 points while the Madwemma of KNUST SHS came third with 365 points.
Yaa Asantewaa Girls’ SHS trailed the pack with 350 points to secure the fourth position.
The four schools had emerged out of 31 participating schools, slashing their opponents to make it to the top of the competition.
The ACE Spoken Word is an annual competition organized by the ACE Consult in collaboration with the US Embassy.
Press Attaché at the US Embassy, Matthew Asada, was impressed with the performance of the competing schools.
“It was quite impressive seeing the school perform in all the three rounds. The first round showcasing a theatrical display, the questions and answers for the second round. The final round being an improv,” he said.
CEO of ACE Consult, Marilyn Owusu shared the motivation underpinning the selected topic for the poetry competition.
“There is a spirit of volunteerism that inspires change. We want people to get involved in promoting civic responsibilities. It’s a way of empowering the youth in Ghana,” he said.