At the foot of Bamenda Station Hill, in Mankon village in the North-West Province of Cameroon is an all-girls boarding school known as Our Lady of Lourdes College, Mankon, popularly known as Lourdes College.

The School was founded in 1963 by Father Nabben, who was a Parish Priest at St. Joseph’s Parish Mankon. He wanted to offer education for girls, especially at a period when female education was not a priority. Upon completion of a school building in 1963, he asked Bishop Peeters, who was the Catholic Bishop of West Cameroon, permission to open the school. St. Joseph’s Parish, Mankon generously donated a building and the establishment was named and entrusted into the care of Our Lady of Lourdes.

On 15 October 1963, its doors were opened to the first 35 girls. Our Lady of Lourdes College joined Saker Baptist College and Queen of the Rosary College Okoyong, as the only all-girls secondary schools in Cameroon.

Throughout the years, Our Lady of Lourdes College has expanded with new buildings, new facilities and programs, with about five hundred students enrolling yearly. The association of ex-students is known as the Lourdes Ex-Students Association (LESA) and exstudents are called LESANS.

When the school was opened in 1963, it was first called Our Lady of Lourdes Secondary School. The year 2005 came with many major changes, a high school building was built and opened under the school’s current principal – 2013, Sr. Ndidi Anozie. The name of the school was thus changed to Our Lady of Lourdes College.

From 35 students in 1963 the schools’ current enrollment is 730.This growth captures an unbroken tradition of outstanding results from the Catholic, all-girls institution of learning – The school is dedicated to the enduring values of holistic education that nurtures the intellectual, emotional, social, physical, creative and spiritual growth of each student.

The journey that began in 1963 has seen many cornerstones laid and milestones realized with immeasurable support from students, former students, parents, staff, Cameroonians and the international community. From the addition of a high school, modern library to water project and scholarship from LESA-USA, the road to the Golden Jubilee in 2013 has been graced with blessings.