Bertha Conton

Bertha Yvonne Conton, GCOR (née Thompson; 31 October 1923 – 1 May 2022) was a Sierra Leonean educator who was the principal, founder, and proprietress of Leone Preparatory School.[1][2]

Bertha Yvonne Conton

Bertha Yvonne Conton
Bertha Yvonne Conton
Born(1923-10-31)31 October 1923
Freetown, Sierra Leone
Died1 May 2022(2022-05-01) (aged 98)
Freetown, Sierra Leone
OccupationEducationalist, principal, teacher, school proprietress
NationalityBritish Subject, Sierra Leonean
EducationSt. Joseph's Primary School, St. Joseph's Convent School,
SpouseWilliam Farquhar Conton
Children5
RelativesThomas Josiah Thompson (father), Raymond Sarif Easmon (brother), Amy Manto Bondfield Wellesley-Cole, née Hotobah-During (sister), Robert Wellesley-Cole (brother-in-law)

Biography

Conton was educated at St. Joseph's Primary School and subsequently at St. Joseph's Convent School in Freetown, Sierra Leone. She completed her post-secondary school education in Liverpool, England.[3]

On her return to Freetown, Conton started her teaching career at St Joseph's Convent and the Freetown Secondary School for Girls. After a brief stay in Ghana where she taught at the International School of Accra, her family moved to Bo, Sierra Leone. There in 1961, Conton founded the Leone Preparatory School, also known as the "Bertha Conton School", when she started giving lessons to children on the veranda of her home in Bo. The school later transferred operations to Freetown, in 1963.

Conton was married to William Farquhar Conton, an educator, historian, and author. She died in Freetown on 1 May 2022, at the age of 98.[4]

Awards and recognition

References

  1. "Sierra Leone News: Leone Preparatory school accused of victimisation". Awoko. 4 September 2015. Archived from the original on 22 July 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  2. Aminata Maasaquoi (25 August 2015). "Sierra Leone News: Letter to the Editor". Awoko. Archived from the original on 22 July 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  3. Civilization of the woman in African tradition. Présence africaine. 1975. p. 209. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  4. "Tribute to Mrs Bertha Yvonne Conton, 1923–2022". Much Loved. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  5. "Women: Economic Empowerment". Hansard. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
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