SOBA America Day 2026 — save the date
The annual celebration returns on the second Sunday of October: Mass, scholarships, student and teacher awards, career orientation and the Sahish final.
Catholic boys’ boarding college · Diocese of Buea
Faith Seeking Understanding since 1939
St. Joseph’s College Sasse is Cameroon’s historic Catholic boys’ boarding college, forming disciplined, knowledgeable and service-minded young men at the foot of Mount Cameroon. The first secondary school of British Southern Cameroons, Sasse has shaped the Church, public service and professional life of the nation for more than eight decades.
1939Founded by the Mill Hill Missionaries
1stSecondary school in British Southern Cameroons
100%Reported GCE pass rate, O & A Level, 2025
9Traditional houses named for the saints
SOBAA global brotherhood of former students
Welcome to the Republic of Sasse
A college where faith and learning walk together
Founded on 1 February 1939 by the Mill Hill Missionaries, St. Joseph’s College Sasse stands at Small Soppo, Buea, in the shadow of Mount Cameroon. Guided by the motto Fides Quaerens Intellectum, Faith Seeking Understanding, the college joins academic excellence to Catholic spiritual formation, discipline, leadership, service and lifelong brotherhood.
Generations of former students, known as SOBANS, continue to serve Cameroon and the world in education, medicine, law, government, science, engineering, business, ministry and community life. The college belongs to the Catholic Diocese of Buea and prepares candidates for the Cameroon GCE Ordinary and Advanced Levels in both Arts and Sciences.
The college at the foot of Mount Cameroon
From the Principal’s desk
Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Ngwesse Epie, Principal, leads a college in renewal: a rehabilitated chapel, a new high-school block and the strongest GCE results in the school’s history.
Fides Quaerens Intellectum
Faith Seeking Understanding · After St. Anselm of Canterbury
At Sasse, faith and learning are not separated. Faith motivates the search for truth, while education deepens the student’s understanding of God, humanity, society and the world.
Formation at Sasse
Rooted in faith. Formed in discipline. Prepared to lead.
Six pillars that have shaped Sasse boys for more than eight decades.
Catholic faith
Daily prayer, Holy Mass, the sacraments, retreats and the Feast of St. Joseph anchor the rhythm of college life.
Intellectual excellence
Rigorous Arts and Science programmes leading to the Cameroon GCE Ordinary and Advanced Levels, with a long record of outstanding results.
Discipline
Ordered boarding life, from morning prayer to lights out, builds the self-mastery that marks a Sasse boy for life.
Leadership
The prefect system, house captaincy and student councils give every boy real responsibility for others.
Service
Manual work, outreach and Catholic social teaching form young men who serve Church, community and country.
Brotherhood
A bond that begins in the dormitory and endures for life through the worldwide Sasse Old Boys Association.
Founded 1 February 1939 · Mill Hill Missionaries
Our heritage
The first secondary school in British Southern Cameroons
Sasse began at Bonjongo around 1937 as a small missionary programme of education and religious formation. Authorised by colonial Letter No. 308/25 of 17 November 1938, the college formally opened at Sasse on 1 February 1939 with about 75 boys drawn from across the territory.
1939
Opening at Sasse
Two dormitories, a kitchen, a science laboratory and classrooms welcome the first students.
1970
First Black principal
Rev. Fr. Lucas Atang leads the college into a new era.
1979
SOBA organised
The Sasse Old Boys Association takes formal shape in Buea.
2024
85th anniversary
Campus renewal, chapel rehabilitation and a new high-school block.
Academic excellence
A record year at the 2025 GCE
Reports published after the June 2025 session recorded a 100% pass rate at both the Ordinary and Advanced Levels. The lowest Ordinary Level candidate passed in eight subjects; the lowest Advanced Level candidate passed in three.
37
Ordinary Level candidates, all passed
45
Advanced Level candidates, all passed
25
Maximum points: five A grades in Arts
National distinction · 2025
“The first Arts student in Cameroon to obtain a perfect 25 points from five subjects.”
MA
Michael-Tony Fonkeng Asemot
5 A grades — History, Economics, Geography, Philosophy, ICT. Awarded FCFA 1,000,000 by SOBA America.
Boarding life
Nine houses, one brotherhood
Sasse is a full boarding school. Every boy belongs to a house named for a saint, competes for it, prays with it and grows up in it.
SK
St. Kizito
Named for the youngest of the Uganda Martyrs, patron of children and youth.
SA
St. Aquinas
Named for St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and patron of students.
SP
St. Paul
Named for the Apostle of the Nations, a model of zeal and courage.
SJ
St. James
Named for the Apostle James, pilgrim and witness.
SG
St. George
Named for the soldier-martyr, patron of courage.
SPe
St. Peter
Named for the Prince of the Apostles, the rock of the Church.
SAu
St. Augustine
Named for the Bishop of Hippo, the African Doctor of the Church.
SM
St. Marinus
Named for the deacon and hermit, founder of San Marino.
SMa
St. Martin’s
Named for St. Martin, patron of soldiers and the poor.
Our network
Part of a living Catholic education network
Sasse’s mission extends beyond one campus. From its Mill Hill missionary origins and the Catholic Diocese of Buea to related Catholic colleges, seminaries, universities and SOBA chapters around the world, the college belongs to a living network of faith, education, service and brotherhood.
Diocese of Buea
Spiritual oversight, ownership and Catholic educational leadership under Most Rev. Michael Miabesue Bibi, Bishop of Buea.
Mill Hill heritage
The missionary foundation that established Sasse and helped shape Catholic education in English-speaking Cameroon.
Catholic colleges
Historical relationships with Sacred Heart College, Our Lady of Lourdes College, Queen of the Rosary College, Bishop Rogan College and Regina Pacis College.
SOBA Global
A worldwide brotherhood supporting students, teachers, infrastructure, mentorship and scholarships.
Universities and careers
Pathways connecting Sasse students with higher education, professional training and international opportunities.
Partners and benefactors
Alumni classes, charitable organisations, Church partners and friends supporting the school’s development.
Sasse Old Boys Association
Once a SOBAN, always a SOBAN
From the Buea Mother Chapter, organised in 1979, to SOBA America, SOBA UK and class groups across the world, former students give back through scholarships, student and teacher awards, chapel rehabilitation, computers, career orientation and mentorship.
SOBA Buea Mother ChapterSOBA AmericaSOBA UKClass groupsOffice of Alumni Affairs
Next on the calendar
SOBA America Day 2026
Second Sunday of October · Sasse campus
Celebrated each year on the second Sunday of October: Holy Mass, scholarships, student and teacher awards, career orientation, the Sahish final and project announcements.
- Academic excellence awards
- Hard work, good moral standards and cleanliness prizes
- Teacher awards and staff welfare
News & events
Life at Sasse today
Bishop Bibi inspects the new high-school block
Ahead of the 2026/2027 school year the Bishop of Buea visited the new block of eleven classrooms, a computer laboratory and science laboratories.
Lower Sixth admission interviews held
Interviews for entry into Lower Sixth for the 2026/2027 academic year took place on campus.
Admissions 2027/2028
Give your son the Sasse formation
Form One entry is through the Common Entrance Examination and the diocesan admissions interview. Lower Sixth entry is based on GCE Ordinary Level results and an interview.