In 1816, the Anglican Church Missionary Society opened a small private school for girls in the mountainside village of Charlotte in Sierra Leone with only eight students on the roll.

The school began with a vision to educate and train young African girls in pursuit of excellence in all areas, including high academic performance, sound discipline and a solid Christian foundation.

Annie Walsh, for whom the school is named, was a young English girl whose dream was to work in Africa as a missionary. Sadly, she died in a tragic accident before fulfilling her dream.

Her parents established the Annie Walsh Memorial Fund which was added to monies collected by the Christian Missionary Society of the Anglican Church and used to erect the first school buildings.

In 1865, the school moved to its present location in Freetown on Kissy Road, and was formally named the Annie Walsh Memorial School in 1878.