Phiri was an exceptional student, despite his tendency to play truant to play football which he preferred to the rigors of study, and was noticed by Mr. Green, a manager at the
Rhodesia Iron and Steel Company where Phiri's father Abel was now Head Clerk. Green took personal interest in Phiri's education and encouraged him in school and gave him books allowing him to achieve high grades.
Primary school In 1945, when Phiri was 8 years old, he was sent to a Presbyterian School, the Gloag Branch Mission School, near Bulawayo. Here he developed his love of gardening, where it was taught as a subject, and it remained his hope that gardening would one day be taught as a school subject in Zambian schools.
Secondary school In 1951, Phiri went on to
Goromonzi High School. His first headmaster at the school was a Mr. Miller, a Cambridge graduate, inculcated in him the belief that Oxford and Cambridge were the best universities in the world. His belief that there is nothing that stops an African child achieving whatever they want to achieve and race, religion or circumstance were no obstacle to self belief and determination. This spurred Phiri to say that he would go to Oxford University. Phiri led a full school life, becoming Head boy, captaining the school football team, playing football at national schoolboys level as well as being the conductor of the school choir. Phiri graduated from Goromonzi with amongst the best A level results in Southern Africa at the time, with 2 'A's and 2 'B's in English, history, geography and chemistry. In 1957, to earn a full scholarship to study in the UK, Phiri had to return to Northern Rhodesia for a year and returned to
Lusaka where he was given housing in Matero, a high density suburb of Lusaka. He was given his first job at the Government Stores in Lusaka, a job he thoroughly detested, however his lifelong ethic of making the best of all situations allowed him to persevere. Whilst humming a hymn, a white colleague struck up a conversation with him and ended up inviting him to attend the then white only Methodist Church. It was here he met Phyllis and Don Fluck, who soon invited him to live with them, a shocking occurrence in the then racially segregated community. Phiri also met another member of the congregation at trinity, Mr. Henry Fosbrooke (10 October 1908 – 25 April 1996), the head of the
Rhodes-Livingstone Institute from 1956. Mr Fosbrooke arranged for Phiri to leave Government Stores and work at the Rhodes-Livingstone Institute. In June 1958, Phiri was informed that he had been awarded a 'grant' to study for a diploma in social work at
Bristol University for two years. He rang Mr Green at Rhodesia Iron and Steel Company who informed his father of the good news. In September of the same year Phiri would get on his first flight and leave to the UK. At his farewell party many people gave him money to help him on his way, further testimony to his astounding ability to connect with people. One of the most generous contributors, with a fifty-pound gift, was a Dr. Scott; father of Zambia's former Republican Vice-president Dr.
Guy Scott.
University Phiri studied social sciences at the
University of Bristol and went on to obtain a degree. He then went to study for a degree in
Social Anthropology at
Oxford University. At Bristol, he took up golf, and was appointed captain of the university team. At Oxford, his handicap was reduced to three and he played first in the Divots, the second team, against Cambridge in 1961 (winning both his matches) and for the university team in the varsity golf match in 1962 (again winning both matches) and in 1963. He was also elected a member of
the Royal and Ancient Golf Club at St Andrews, another first for a black African. == Career==