What's Tanzania's Capital...?

The whole Canon Andrea Mwaka School in September 2009

Ask people to name the capital of Tanzania and most would either scratch their head or reply “Dar es Salaam”. Dodoma, the current capital, is a town unfamiliar to many and it certainly doesn’t live up to what would be expected of any capital of today’s modern world. Roads are relatively free of traffic and it has a very tangible small town feel. Dodoma became the official administrative capital of Tanzania in 1996, but established in the town some forty years prior to this was the end result of an ambition of the Reverend Canon Andrea Mwaka. In 1949 a school was established that today is still thriving and is centred around a Christian ethos that he envisaged before it was ever built.

Today, as we take a walk around the grounds, it very much has the feeling of a school “on a mission”. The roll has recently exceeded two hundred students for the first time in the school’s fifty year history. As a result, new classrooms are under construction. In August 2008, the school celebrated the opening of a new Reception classroom which, together with the nursery classroom and extensive surrounding play area, makes up the Early Years Centre. From this age group upwards, the students follow the English National Curriculum. The Early Years Centre provides children with a variety of play-centred learning followed by more rigid lesson-based learning to equip them for the move to the older year groups of the primary school. The Early Years Centre sits individually, separated from the rest of the school by a full-sized football pitch and sweeping grounds, used extensively by other classes. 

The hub of the school forms a quadrangle. Both primary classrooms, offices and staff rooms surround the main primary play area. Taking a walk into the Year One and Two classrooms, it is clear to see lessons are well resourced and teaching meets the standards expected in state schools of the UK, and indeed, international schools of East Africa. CAMS, however, fits into the mould of “diocesan school”, since its students are charged a fraction of the fees of those typical of an official international school and its Christian ethos aims to reach out to as many Tanzanians as possible, not just expatriates and the very wealthy. In fact, around 20 per cent of our students are sponsored.

Adjoining the primary classrooms are the secondary buildings. This department has enjoyed enormous growth over the past two years. Only recently, the prospect of closing the secondary school was still being discussed by the school board. Now however, secondary classes are fuller than ever, providing students with the only place in Dodoma to study for, and sit International GCSEs. 2009 was a milestone for results, where 100 per cent of students from Form Four completed their studies gaining a grade C or above in mathematics. 

Despite its location, CAMS has enjoyed relative stability with its staffing in recent years. Teachers come from a variety of backgrounds including the UK, New Zealand, Australia, USA, Canada and of course Tanzania. The current principal, Vicki Hookings, recognises the importance of quality staff and the value of their diverse backgrounds.  “The holistic education provided by our school gives the students the tools for nation-building and peace-making.”

Despite their wide range of backgrounds, the staff all enjoy one thing in common, that of a Christian faith which enables and strengthens them in day-to-day work at the school. Each day is started with a short meeting and devotions for all staff and this is repeated within registration time for all students. CAMS welcomes children from all faiths. Indeed, around 60 per cent of its students come from non-Christian backgrounds, including Islam and Hinduism. 

The founders of Canon Andrea Mwaka School had a vision over 50 years ago; that vision is still growing and developing today - come and be part of it.