Iwerekun Community Senior High School in Ibeju-Lekki has won the 10th edition of the Tolaram Science Challenge, clinching the title for the third year running and cementing its place as the dominant school in the annual STEM competition.
The school defeated Magbon-Alade Senior Grammar School in the grand finale to retain the championship. Ibeju Senior High School, Lekki, and Community Senior High School, Lekki, finished third and fourth respectively.
The Tolaram Science Challenge is an annual competition sponsored by the Lagos Free Zone, designed to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education among public secondary schools in the Ibeju-Lekki axis of Lagos State. This year’s edition ran for one week and featured 16 schools, each represented by six students. Participants were tested in physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics and general knowledge.
In the individual rankings, Nyong Jebson emerged as the overall best student. Adekunle Ephraim and Ashikodi Chukwu placed second and third respectively. All three received cash prizes for their performances.
The school’s three consecutive victories have been credited in part to two teachers, Ameh Olabisi Adebowale and Oluwajemiraun Emmanuel Segun, whose coaching and mentorship the school said contributed significantly to the students’ preparation and performance.
Following the competition, the school’s principal led the winning team on a courtesy visit to the Office of Education District III, where the championship trophy was formally presented to the Acting Tutor-General and Permanent Secretary, Dr Idowu Olufunke Oyetola.
Receiving the delegation, Oyetola described the victory as a testament to discipline, dedication and teamwork, and commended the teachers for their commitment to nurturing academic excellence. She used the occasion to challenge other public secondary schools in the Ibeju-Lekki zone to sharpen their preparations for future editions of the competition while urging Iwerekun not to ease up on the standards it has set. “The reward of hard work is more work,” she told the students.
