Fourteen of the 27 participating schools in the Ace Spoken Word Contest have qualified for the semi-finals of the competition after two days of impressive oratorical performances from the students.

The participating students were drawn from 27 schools in the Greater Accra region to compete in six groups for a place in the semi-finals.

The Ace Spoken Word Contest is an inter-school poetry and oration competition for senior high schools in the country.

The participating teams wowed their colleagues and the audience with their oration and choreography, while delivering on the World Cup-inspired theme, ‘when the whistle blows, borders fade.’

The successful schools are Presbyterian Secondary School – Legon (PRESEC – Legon), Forces Senior High Technical School, O’Reilly Senior High, Achimota School, Ghana Christian High International School, Tema Secondary School, Odorgonno Senior High, Accra Girls SHS, Kwabenya Community SHS, Accra High School, Labone SHS, Chemu SHTS, Nungua SHS and Our Lady of Mercy Senior High School.

According to event organisers, a 15th school will be selected later to join the already qualified school for the semifinals which will be held in May. The two potential schools are currently tied on points.

The first contest, which took place on Friday, saw PRESEC – Legon pitted against Fafraha Community SHS, Forces SHTS and St. Thomas Aquinas SHS. Presec and Forces SHS were adjudged to be the best in this group and subsequently qualified for the next round with 85 and 71 points respectively.

In the second contest, O’Reilly SHS faced off against PRESEC – La, Achimota School, and Accra Wesley Girls’ SHS. O’Reilly and Achimota topped this group with 88 and 80 points respectively.

There were five schools in the third contest, namely, Ghana Christian International High School, Tema Secondary School (Temasco), PRESEC – Osu, Accra Academy and Odorgonno Senior High School.

Ghana Christian International topped the group with 87 points, while Temasco and Odorgonno tied for second place with 85 points each.

On Day 2 of the competition, which took place on Saturday, Accra Girls SHS beat off competition from the Kwabenya Community SHS, Kinbu SHS, PRESEC – Teshie and St. Mary’s SHS to emerge winners of the fourth contest with 87 points. They were joined in the next round by Kwabenya, who scored 78.

Accra High School won Contest 5 by a hair. In a tight race, they secured 82 points, narrowly defeating both Labone SHS and Chemu SHTS, who finished in a tie for second place with 80 points.

Nungua SHS won the final round of competition with 78 points, just ahead of Our Lady of Mercy SHS, which got 76 points. Christian Methodist SHS came third with 70 points and were knocked out of the competition.

The Executive Director of ACE Consult, organisers of the Spoken Word competition, Marilyn Owusu, said the aim of the organisers is to build great public speaking skills among the participants.

“We want to see confident, eloquent public speakers at the end o the day. It’s a time for enjoying their performances.”

She explained that the Spoken Word Competition started in 2023 in Kumasi with 17 schools, but had grown into a 39-school competition with over 400 students participating, and had now made its way to the national capital for the first time.

Press Attaché at the American Embassy, Matthew Asada, in his welcome address, expressed the Embassy’s delight to be a part of the event, especially as it coincides with America’s 250th Independence Anniversary.

He said, “today’s competition embodies the freedoms we celebrate: freedom of expression, freedom of thought, freedom of speech. Spoken word is where poetry meets performance, where ideas meet action—just as our American founding fathers used their words to declare independence.”

He continued, “This year, the United States will host the FIFA World Cup 26. This is the largest World Cup in history, with 48 teams – including Ghana’s Black Stars – competing across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It is a celebration of global unity, bringing nations together through the shared passion for football.”

And just as sport unites nations, your voices today will bridge cultures and inspire communities. This competition tests critical thinking, confidence, and performance under pressure—the same qualities we see in world-class athletes.”

Asada reminded the students, “Your words have power—to inspire, to unite, to transform communities across borders. To every student here today: you are part of this legacy of freedom, expression, and global connection. Speak with confidence, speak with purpose—because when you find your voice, you discover your power to change the world.”