Platform College, Ipaja, has emerged as the winner of the 2022 Science Olympic Competition in the Lagos State Junior Secondary School category.
The competition, which took place at the Anchor University in Ayobo, Lagos, had three categories including the primary; junior secondary school, and senior secondary school categories.
Commenting on the feat, Bola Obe, director of Platform Schools, said the aim of the competition was to produce students that are proficient in science education, adding that one of the factors that helped the students to win the competition was parental support.
According to Obe, the school’s philosophy is to be the best in science education and Mathematics, which is why the school strives to meet international standards.
“We blended the British and the Nigerian curriculum. One of the things we do every term is to bring consultants to train our teachers. We also have different clubs such as science club, literary club, music club, and JET club and the students belong to any of these clubs,” he said.
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Obe further said that apart from what the students learn in classes, teachers drill them in clubs and introduce them to advanced areas of their interest.
“We introduce them to international questions in their areas of interest. We show them some complex science experiments like how to build simple machines such as blending machines, pressing iron, and the general process of building tools. When they belong to any of these clubs, it helps them to be ahead of others,” Obe said.
Olusegun Akinsaya, Platform Schools’ counselor, said one of the factors that helped the students to pass or to excel to this stage of the competition is parental support.
“Our parents formed the parents’ group for science competitors, for Olympiad Competition, so that they will continue to give moral support to those children because they are still young. They will bring them to school on Saturday and we will go through the experiment together. Secondly, the Director of the School sponsored the project which is quite expensive at millions of naira. He wants the school to be ahead in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education, he is not profit-centered but he wants the school to be known for its excellent performance in science education,’’ Akinsaya said.
He added that Platform Schools had quality assurance officers who checked every academic and extra-curricular activity in the school to ensure the standard is not compromised.
Akinsanya also said that both teaching and non-teaching staff were exposed to various innovative training that would benefit learners in both the primary and secondary arms of the school.
