Praecip Excellence in Education Awards · 2026

The standard for excellence in Ugandan education.

Name: Praecip Excellence in Education Awards 2026, Ceremony
Start: 2026-08-20T18:00:00+03:00
Location: To be announced

An independent, evidence-led mark of school quality, judged on results, refereed by educators, and free for any school to win. Recognition a parent can trust, and a school can earn.

Explore the 26 categories How schools are judgedInaugural cycle · Nominations open May 2026

Why this exists

Every year, families make one of the most consequential decisions of their lives, where to send a child to school, on a patchwork of hearsay, billboards and a single set of exam results read without context. Uganda has never had an independent, evidence-led mark of school quality that a parent can trust and a school can earn.

The Praecip Excellence in Education Awards exist to be exactly that, a recognition grounded in measured outcomes, refereed by educators, and free for any school to win. We are not the loudest voice in the room. We intend to be the most rigorous.

Judged on results, not relationships

An award is only worth winning if it cannot be bought. Five rules hold the line, and they are not negotiable.

Free to enter

No fee for nomination or consideration, ever. We do not sell places on a shortlist.

Blind to commerce

Judges never see a school’s subscription or advertising status. The wallet is walled off.

Judged on data

Examination results from our own database lead the score. Reported, not asserted.

Independent panel

Praecip convenes; a panel of educators decides. We don’t crown winners alone.

Transparent rubric

Every weight and source is published. A school can see exactly why it placed.

The headline honours

Two prizes anchor the night

School of the Year, The Laureate

The single most distinguished school in the country, the programme’s grand prize.

Judged on

A composite of results, improvement, access and breadth.

Lifetime Achievement in Education

A career that shaped how Uganda goes to school.

Judged on

Panel selection on sustained contribution.

What we recognise

26 categories, 6 disciplines

Breadth is deliberate. Recognising trajectory, access and region, the teachers a school grows and the environment it stewards, not just the fees it charges, keeps the door open to schools of every kind.

Browse by discipline See every category

Results & Performance

Measured outcomes, examined nationally.

School of the Year
Secondary School of the Year
Primary School of the Year
Vocational & Technical Institution of the Year
Most Improved School

Curriculum & Specialism

Distinction within a framework or discipline.

International School of the Year
STEM School of the Year
Arts, Sport & Humanities Award

Access & Equity

Excellence that widens the door.

Value & Affordability Award
Rural School of the Year
Girls’ Education Champion
Inclusive Education Award
Scholarship & Bursary Leadership

Regional Champions

The standard-bearer of each region.

Regional School of the Year, Buganda
Regional School of the Year, Eastern
Regional School of the Year, Northern
Regional School of the Year, Western

Innovation & Operations

How a school is run, and renewed.

EdTech & Digital Innovation
Wellbeing & Pastoral Care
Teacher Development & CPD
Green School Award
Newcomer of the Year

People & Leadership

The educators behind the results.

Headteacher of the Year
Teacher of the Year
Rising Star Educator
Lifetime Achievement in Education

The mark

The Praecip Seal of Excellence

The award’s real product is a transportable mark of trust. Winners carry it; so do the schools just behind them, because recognition you can display is recognition that moves enrolment.

A digital badge for your site and socials, linked back to a public verification page.
A printed certificate, and a laurel on your Praecip profile.
A place in the published honour roll, archived every cycle.
A press kit so the local paper can run the story.

More about the seal

Four tiers of recognition

Tier 1

Winner

The category’s top school. Carries the Praecip Seal of Excellence for the cycle.

Tier 2

Highly Commended

The runner-up distinction, within a hair of the win.

Tier 3

Finalist

Named on the final shortlist the panel deliberated over.

Tier 4

Shortlisted

Advanced past first-round scoring into contention.

Schools recognised three cycles running earn Praecip Accredited Excellence, a standing mark of sustained quality.

The method

How a school is scored

Read the full methodology

The scoring rubric

Examination results40%
Improvement & value-added20%
Access & equity15%
Curricular & co-curricular breadth15%
Parent & community signal10%

The 2026 cycle

Nominations openNow· May 2026
Entries & data review· June – July 2026
Panel judging· July 2026
Shortlist revealed· July 2026
Awards ceremony· August 2026
Seals issued· September 2026

Who decides

An independent panel

Praecip assembles the evidence; experienced educators do the judging. The standing panel is announced when nominations open.

Meet the full panel

Standards Reviewer

Seat reserved for a former senior curriculum & standards official.

Assessment Researcher

Seat reserved for a university chair in educational measurement.

Pastoral Veteran

Seat reserved for a veteran head of a Ugandan girls’ secondary.

School Founder

Seat reserved for the founder of a multi-campus school network.

Education Economist

Seat reserved for an independent education-economics researcher.

Examination Authority

Seat reserved for a former national chief examiner.

The panel is kept anonymous by design: unnamed judges protect the integrity of the verdict and shield the bench from lobbying and influence-peddling. The confirmed panel is published with the results.

The honour roll

No winners to show, not yet. The inaugural roll is revealed at the August 2026 ceremony, then archived here every cycle as a permanent record of the country’s finest schools.

The Laureate 2026 · revealed August 2026

See the Honour Roll

The ceremony

Winners and Highly Commended schools are announced at the inaugural ceremony in Kampala, with a livestream for families and schools across the country.

August 2026Kampala · venue to be announced

The evening, in full

For schools

Put your school forward

Entry is free and takes minutes. The recognition, and the enrolment it moves, lasts the year. Nominations for the inaugural cycle open in May 2026.

Enter the 2026 awards See how judging works

Not a school? Partner with the Awards.

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