Olashore restates commitment to producing value-driven students

Nigeria’s “pride of Africa” in secondary education, Olashore International School (OIS) has restated its commitment to raising disciplined leaders and value-driven students in the society, with all its activities directed towards the course.

Prince Abimbola Olashore, Chairman Board of Governors, Olashore International School

Speaking at an interview session, Chairman, Board of Governor, Olashore International School, Prince Abimbola Olashore stated: “Olashore International School since its inception in 1994 has re-defined education through its comprehensive teaching and learning approach, high quality instructors and keen emphasis on student leadership development. At Olashore International School, we are committed to ensuring that our graduates are prepared for the dynamic global  society in the 21st century hence we prepare future leaders to  explore their potentials so as to create widespread change in the world. We are also committed to raising disciplined and value-driven students in the society. The school was founded by one of Nigeria’s great leaders, Oba Oladele Olashore (CON) on the values of academic excellence, discipline and leadership. Although the founder is no longer in the school his words on these matters are entrenched in the school philosophy and reiterated in the mission statement. ”

In a quest to nurture potential leaders, the school introduced a leadership program through which the students will be trained on the potentials of being good leaders. “Our students are often found in leadership positions wherever they go, which is attributed it to the quality of training they are exposed to, so we are trying to develop leaders, so that the students can do everything by themselves and become empowered. While academic excellence and nurturing each child to their full potential are core elements of an Olashore education, the unique aspects of an Olashore education remains our commitment to developing leaders for the 21st century. We believe direct service to society is a powerful vehicle for developing students’ leadership skills. Olashore students go through a specially designed leadership curriculum that looks at leadership concepts with a focus on ways to apply these attributes. The culmination of the long year course is that students in groups devise and implement a service project to address a societal issue.  An emphasis is placed on the sustainability of the project. Students present their projects to an invited panelist of esteemed experts in the field who judge the feasibility of these assignments”, stated.

With the launch of iPads in the school, the roll out and usage is expected to commence this session in order to help train value-driven students. Prince Olashore’s words: “Nigeria can no longer wait and play catch up with technology or keep waiting for technology transfer. We have to leap frog to catch up and get our young Nigerians prepared for the new technology driven world. The Challenge in the iPad initiative  is the infrastructure, that is the bandwidth to be consumed, but we are pleased to make substantial investment in this direction because the world has gone far beyond, and we want the kids to compete favorably with the world especially in an information technology age, aside from classwork”.

As if that was not enough, the school offers international examinations in line with foreign students. According to him, “In order to attain the academic peak which the school clamor for, Olashore International School (OIS) offers the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), an academically rigorous, internationally used and specialized English language Curriculum, which is offered to students to prepare them for international Baccalaureate (a group of three internationally recognized educational programs for students), A Level and Business Technology Education Council (BTEC) Level 3.

According to him, the West African Examination Council’s 2014 analysis that listed the school as one of the best 10 in the country, out of 11,000 schools, is a confirmation of the high standard the school has maintained over the years. “We are at the stage where people who have gone to our school are now at the labour market and what hear about them is quite satisfying, which is the basis of academic excellence. It is on top of it we now have things like very strong ethical and moral behavior and discipline”, he stated.

Olashore International School is an institution that believes in the Beyond the Classroom learning excursion programs to a number of destinations, which is aimed at giving the students a broad international experience as part of its ongoing efforts to raise leaders for the 21st Century, thus positioning the school as an institution with much more than academic excellence. The school also keeps Nigeria’s history on the radar, through these excursions, given the fact that most young Nigerians are not conversant with the country’s history.

With a world class golf course soon to be sited close to the school premises, Olashore International School will in the near future be introducing golf in its co-curriculum activities, thus becoming the first school in Nigeria and indeed the African continent to do so. It is also in line with its commitment to give her students well-rounded education, blended with technology and leisure so as to raise truly global leaders. Golf is a great sport for the children to learn, and it’s really interesting. On the game, you learn self-control. Now that there’s going to be a Golf here now, everyone has the opportunity to learn lessons in the morning before school hours, in the evenings, and during weekends. In spite of the fact that we have competitions around the school, I think some of our students can partake in the competition.

In order to ensure value-driven graduates, Olashore International School which is affiliated to Bradford and Lancaster Universities offers a foundation programme to assist students preparing for higher institution.  According to Mr. Rafiu Hakeem, the co-ordinator of the Lancaster Foundation, students of this school are made to choose between five universities of their choice in the UK after which they will attend anyone of their choice, but before they can move abroad to study, the students cannot just travel to school abroad like that, they need to go through a foundation programme. Since Olashore International School is affiliated to Lancaster University, this programme is well known and approved. After the students has completed their WAEC, they are compelled to enroll for this programme for 10months, and when lectures go mid-way, the students are taken abroad for study trips, trial lectures, volunteering programs, extra lectures, and community service. This programme is cheap compared to other foundation programs.

On resumption in this 2015/2016 session, the principal, Mr Derek Smith, announced that the staff complement has been enhanced with the employment of new teachers in Mathematics and English to build on the school’s already excellent academic performance; the hostels upgraded with each students having their corners complete in-built wardrobes and sockets for charging laptops or iPads;  Classrooms are upgraded with e-learning facilities to encourage the four Cs of Critical thinking, Communication, Collaboration and Creativity which are vital for 21^st century learners; The commencement of usage of iPads; Employment of a registrar to ensure smooth the transition from primary to secondary school for both students and parents allowing the children to hit the ground running, all amongst others, all in a bid to ensure the upbringing of disciplined and value added students.