Iwerekun Community Senior High School, Ibeju-Lekki, has emerged the winner of the 10th Tolaram Science Challenge (TSC), marking its third consecutive win.
The school defeated Magbon-Alade Senior Grammar School in a keenly contested grand finale of the competition.
The Tolaram Science Challenge, sponsored by Lagos Free Zone, is an annual science competition for schools in the Ibeju-Lekki axis of Lagos and has become a flagship contest that brings together bright young minds from secondary schools across the area.
The competition enables them to showcase innovative ideas and practical solutions to real-world challenges through STEM education.
It features 16 participating secondary schools, each represented by six students. The students were tested in five core subject areas: Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, and General Knowledge. At the end of the competition, Ibeju Senior High School, Lekki and Community Senior High School, Lekki came third and fourth, respectively. Also, three students with outstanding performances- Nyong Jebson, Adekunle Ephraim and Ashikodi Chukwu also secured first, second and third positions respectively. Each was rewarded with a cash prize.
Speaking at the grand finale, Director, Zone Development, Binay Saraf, who represented Chief Executive Officer, Lagos Free Zone, Adesuwa Ladoja, described the decade-old competition as a remarkable milestone, which started as a modest initiative, and has grown into one of the flagship corporate social responsibility programmes of Lagos Free Zone.
She noted that the company’s commitment to the competition to date reflects its belief that today’s students are tomorrow’s innovators, scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, and leaders.
She urged students to see competitions not as a matter of winning a trophy, but as opportunities to develop confidence, learn to solve problems, work as a team, and discover what they are capable of achieving. “Whether you receive a prize today or not, the knowledge you gain, the friendships you build and the experience you take away will remain with you for life,” she added.
Director and Chief Sustainability Officer, Lagos Free Zone, Vishal Shah, noted that the Zone remains committed to improving the quality of education in the Ibeju-Lekki axis through the initiative.
Shah stressed that over the past 10 years, the initiative has fostered healthy competition among pupils and improved performance in various qualifying examinations.
In his remarks, the visioner of the TSC, Olakunle Fadumiye, said that the intent behind the competition was to ensure that participants return to their schools as ambassadors of excellence and possibility, regardless of whether they are in or not.
“When we started in 2016, many students had little motivation to pursue science subjects. Some preferred fishing and informal work instead of going to school because they saw few opportunities through education. University seemed unattainable to many. Yet we believed that if we could inspire even a few students to dream bigger, we could begin changing the future of an entire community,” Fadumiye said.
While commending the leadership team of Tolaram and LFZ for laying the foundations that have become symbols of economic transformation and national development, he urged LFZ to continually offer TSC alumni preference for industrial training opportunities, internships and NYSC placements within the Zone, noting that these opportunities will provide practical experience, professional exposure, and workplace skills that will prepare them for future success.
On her part, Mrs. Olubunmi Ajibola-Morebise, Deputy Director, Schools Support Unit, Education District III, Ikoyi, commended the management of Lagos Free Zone and Tolaram for sustaining the vision that has kept the competition going to this day.
She acknowledged that the competition has impacted pupils in Ibeju-Lekki by fostering a better reading culture and promoting keen competition among teachers.
Thirty-two students were also awarded Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) scholarships for their outstanding performance in the competition.
Speaking shortly after receiving the trophy, the team captain of Iwerekun Community Senior High School, Fawaz Alayo, who could not conceal his excitement, attributed the outstanding performance to teachers’ efforts and the immense support the school extended to the team.
