King's College, Budo

King’s College Budo is a major, mixed secondary school in Wakiso District, on the outskirts of Uganda's capital city, Kampala.

The school was officially opened on March 29, 1906 with 21 boys. It was initially set up as a school to educate the sons of chiefs, but gradually it started admitting Ugandans from all walks of life and from all over the country, without regard to ethnicity, religion or background. In 1933 the first 6 girls were admitted thereby making it the first co-education great school in the country.

The school was started by Henry Walter Weatherhead, an ordained priest of the Church of England, and a graduate of Trinity College Cambridge.

The school was established largely due to the initiative and enthusiasm of Bishop Tucker, the first Anglican Bishop of Uganda. Bishop Tucker financed the whole project with an estimated 2000 pounds from his diocese. Weatherhead scouted a number of places for the school, but eventually picked Budo for its elegant hill and view of the lake. However, he soon found himself set against the whole of Buganda since Budo was a royal hill where Buganda Kings were crowned. He credited Sir Apollo Kaggwa, regent for the young Kabaka of Buganda at that time, and at the same time Katikiro of Buganda for enabling him to succeed despite great opposition.

Budo predates Makerere as the first centre of higher learning. Since independence, three out of eight Ugandan Presidents have been Budonians.

External links

* [http://www.kcbudo.sc.ug/ Kings College Budo]