Tarkwa Senior High
TARSCO
Key school facts
- Category
- B
- School code
- 0040904
- Gender
- Mixed
- Residential
- Day & Boarding
- Established
- 1961
About Tarkwa Senior High
Tarkwa Senior High, widely known as TARSCO, opened in 1961 as one of the Ghana Education Trust schools created during the rapid expansion of secondary education after independence. The first intake was 59 students supported by only three staff members.
That small beginning has grown into a mixed day-and-boarding school serving Tarkwa and communities across the Western Region. The school has a particularly visible old-student network through TARPSA, which continues to support campus development.
You can study Business, General Arts, General Science, Home Economics and Visual Arts at TARSCO; check the programme pages to see how the options differ.
Programmes Offered
5 listedExplore the programmes currently verified for this school.
History
Tarkwa Senior High was established in September 1961 as part of Ghana's post-independence expansion of secondary education.
A history maintained by an old-student group traces the school to the Ghana Education Trust programme and the Accelerated Development Plan for Education. The foundation stone was laid in January 1961 after land was acquired from the mining company operating in the area.
The school opened with 59 students and three staff members. From there, enrolment and boarding needs grew steadily.
TARSCO's history is closely tied to the transformation of Tarkwa itself, from a mining town with limited second-cycle options into a place with a long-established public senior high school.
Academics
The current register lists Business, Home Economics, Visual Arts, General Arts and General Science at Tarkwa Senior High.
That means Agricultural Science and STEM are not currently offered at TARSCO. If either one is essential to your plans, you need to know that before selecting the school.
For a closer look at Business at TARSCO, start with the Business guide.
Admissions & Entry Guidance
Entry to Tarkwa Senior High starts with the choices you make after BECE. Check whether the TARSCO programmes (Business, General Arts, General Science, Home Economics and Visual Arts) include the subjects you want.
Check the CSSPS website for your TARSCO result. If you are placed at TARSCO, the result will say whether you are a day student or a boarder.
School placement is managed through CSSPS.
Facilities
TARSCO has grown far beyond the size its original facilities were designed to serve. That is why infrastructure has remained a recurring issue for the school.
A Ghana News Agency report documented plans by TARPSA to replace the ageing dining facility with a much larger modern complex because the existing hall could no longer serve the student population comfortably.
The Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipal Assembly has also documented classroom blocks, dormitory facilities, internal roads and a dispensary project on the campus.
Student Life
TARPSA gives students a visible connection to generations of past students who still identify strongly with the school.
The old-student association has used anniversary activities to rally support for major projects rather than limiting its role to reunions. Sport, clubs, student leadership and academic competition add other ways for students to build confidence and relationships.
Accommodation
Tarkwa Senior High runs day and boarding arrangements. Day students leave after school activities, while TARSCO boarders continue with meals and evening study on campus.
When enrolment grows, dormitory and dining capacity becomes part of the education experience because those facilities shape how students live outside classroom hours.
Check the wording on your TARSCO placement so you know whether to prepare for day or boarding school.