Modupe Gbadeyanka
On Friday, June 14, 2019, about 91 top performing students from 46 schools in Nigeria received 125 Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards following their outstanding performance in the November 2017 and June 2018 Cambridge exams series.
The event, which took place at the Civic Centre in Lagos, was hosted by Cambridge International and the British Council.
The awards covered various subjects taken in Cambridge IGCSEs, Cambridge O Levels and Cambridge International AS & A Levels.
The top achievers included three ‘Top in World’ category winners: Omoshemi Favour Oloriegbe from The Childville Senior for Cambridge IGCSE Sociology in the June 2018 exam series; Prince Ogunlana from Lifeforte International High School for Cambridge International AS Level Sociology in the November 2017 exam series and Chinaza Adaeze Osuji from Chrisland College awarded for Cambridge IGCSE Agriculture in the November 2017 exam series. Top in World winners are learners who have gained the highest mark in the world for a single subject.
In her opening remarks at the ceremony, Kanto Adesina, Territory Manager for Nigeria, Cambridge International, offered warm congratulations to the students, their teachers and principals.
“Events like this are very important for Cambridge because students are at the heart of everything we do. We believe continuous and interactive learning, not exams and tests, is the ultimate purpose of education to impact individuals and the world.
“Our examinations are designed to encourage, recognise and reward learning. They should not be regarded as an end in themselves. Our programmes and qualifications encourage students to develop their own strengths and interests, and cultivate an informed curiosity and a lasting passion for learning,” she said.
The British Council also awarded partner schools from the Partner Schools Global Network (PSGN) that exemplifies best practice policies for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Child Protection.
Lucy Pearson, Country Director, British Council Nigeria and West Africa Cluster Lead, said at the ceremony that, “At the British Council we are committed to creating opportunities for people all over the world by enabling relevant connections; between people in the countries where we are present, and the UK.
“We have been doing this in Nigeria for the last 75 years and are currently marking our 75th anniversary celebration. We have been able to achieve several significant successes because of the key partners we work with – an example is our partnership with Cambridge International in providing Nigerian students access to globally-recognised qualifications.
“At the awards this year, we also recognised outstanding schools who are key enablers to the success of the awardees through their implementation of policies that drive Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and Child Protection.
“We believe that providing an enabling environment allows young people to learn and thrive, embrace their unique characteristics and prepare for global citizenship. We applaud all the award recipients and hope the awards spur them into achieving future accomplishments.”
Cambridge programmes are taught in more than 360 schools across Nigeria.
