Victory Primary School is located in Buhoma, Bwindi in western Uganda. The school is only a 7 minute drive from the gates of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda’s home to the world’s endangered Mountain Gorillas.
The school has 10 classes from nursery (baby class, middle class and top class) to primary school (primary 1 to 7). Students attend school between 7:30am and 5:00pm, Monday to Friday. All students attend classes including Literacy, Mathematics, English, Science, Social Studies, Physical Education, Art, Drama and Music.
The school caters for day students and boarders. Currently, there are approximately 200 students enrolled, with 100 attending as day students and 100 as boarders.
Meet the Team
The school currently employs 13 teachers, 1 bursar, 2 matrons, 3 cooks, 1 gardener and 2 gatekeepers. Each person in the school community contributes to the successful running of the school.
Co-Founder and Director: Mr Victor Bahati
Growing up in Buhoma, Victor experienced education in rural Uganda first-hand. Accessing education was difficult to afford, and a long way from home. Victor travelled 20km per day to reach school. After working hard to complete his education, Victor was able to travel around Uganda working in tourism. He then returned to Buhoma and was inspired to start a school using some money he had saved. Victor’s father donated the land that the school was built on.
Co-Founder, Bursar and Early Childhood Educator: Mrs Chemutai Sylvia Bahati
Sylvia is the co-founder of the school. Her roles include working as the school bursar, ensuring that finances are managed. Sylvia is also a qualified Early Childhood Education Teacher with over 15 years of experience. For the first four years of the school, Sylvia and two other staff worked as volunteers to serve the community.
Head Teacher: Mr Oluk Girifin
Mr Oluk Girifin is the head teacher at Victory Primary School. His role involves facilitating the work of all teaching staff at the school. His collaborative style has allowed Victory Primary School’s morale and performance to improve.
Director of Studies: Mr olupot augustine
Mr Olupot Augustine oversees curriculum design and pedagogy at the school. He ensures that students are accessing subject materials appropriately.
Our Mission
Victory Primary School aims to provide a firm educational foundation for a bright future through quality, affordable and accessible education to the Buhoma community and surrounds.
Our Educational Goals
- Students will learn to read and write proficiently.
- Students and teachers will communicate in English.
- Teachers and students will develop strong relationships with each other.
- Student will receive holistic education that encompasses Physical Education, Music, Art and Crafts, in addition to core subjects.
- Students will acquire moral and spiritual skills of judging, evaluating, and appreciating God’s creation.
School Outcomes
Victory Primary School produces high-achieving, confident students who are empowered to learn, articulate themselves, think independently, make decisions, retain facts and pass examinations in their future.
Education at the school offers a range of experiences which build strength of character, enhance employability and contribute to understanding of global issues.
Academic Performance
Victory Primary School is proud to share that they are one of the top performing schools in the district. Each year, students are ranked on their final (Primary 7) exam in divisions from 1 to 4, with 1 being the highest ranking. If students do not receive a pass mark, they are graded a ‘U’. If a student does not attend examinations, they are graded an ‘X’.
Please see our students’ recent performance below:
Achievements and Gratitude
The school started with two semi-permanent classrooms for 38 students. Since 2006, enrolment numbers have grown up to 292 students. Many students are orphans or are from low socio-economic backgrounds, with families living below the poverty line.
Since opening Victory Primary School, the team have worked hard to provide facilities to enable learning. Currently, the school has 9 permanent classrooms, a staff room, a kitchen, store and toilets. There are also 2 dormitory blocks which house boarding students.
The school’s growth has been facilitated by generous donors. These include:
- Sustain for Life (UK) who sponsored construction of 7 classrooms, kitchen, store, staffroom, toilets.
- GWR Foundation who sponsored construction of the girls’ dormitory.
- Deborah Crabbe (USA) who donated roofing for a block of classrooms.
- Omushan through Gill Cason (UK) who donated roofing for a block of classrooms.
- Other generous donors who requested to remain anonymous.
Challenges
Barriers to payment for education
There are many factors which impact a child and their family’s ability to pay school fees. Many children in the school are orphans, are from single-parent households, or may be living below the poverty line. Other children are part of large families or live a long way from school which reduces parental involvement and/or makes accessing school expensive.
Other forms of payment
Victory Primary School have been flexible with payment options for parents to enable the maximum number of children to access their right to education. Some parents work two days per week in the school garden to pay for their child’s tuition. Others are able to pay in the form of crops (including maize flour or beans).