Igbobi College Lagos has emerged as the winner of the maiden edition of the Champ High School quiz organised by JustMedia team.
The Champ High School quiz competition was a closely contested quiz war among premier high schools in the country.
The competition, which began with 32 schools, recently concluded in Lagos, where Igbobi College emerged as the winner, clinching the trophy.
The competition, which began as an online test in English, Mathematics, and History, reduced the number of participating schools to eight.
Premier schools like CMS Grammar School, Lagos; Igbobi College Lagos; Queen’s School, Ibadan; St. Gregory’s College, Lagos; Oriwu Model College, Ikorodu; Olivet Baptist High School, Oyo; Baptist Academy, Lagos; and Wesley College, Ibadan, moved to the second stage of the competition that went live on television.
The Champ High School quiz, specifically organised among iconic pre-independence schools, was the brainchild of four alumni from some premier high schools in Nigeria.
The competition was organised to send a strong signal to the young generation who had erroneously concluded that “;education is scam”, while the ancient axiom remains “education is the best legacy”.
Founded in 1932, Igbobi College, Lagos, was represented at the competition by Olabode Obaloluwa, Okoronkwo David, and Luke-Ahize Somtochuckwu.
The Igbobi team not only beat the CMS Grammar School, Lagos, to emerge the overall winner, but also took home the star prize of one million Naira and a glittering trophy for the school.
Deputy MD at First Bank, Gbenga Shobo, founder and executive vice-chair of Emerging Africa Group, Oluwatoyin Sanni, founder of Orangeline Limited, Chike Iroegbunam, and CEO of Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), Jude Chiemeka, who organised the competition, did so to ventilate their passion about giving back to society, especially the pre-independence high schools, through investment in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and maths) education.
Rev Adedotun Akande, the principal of Igbobi College, while expressing his delight as an accomplished father over the success of his students in competition, said it made him very proud “having nurtured them for this long and for them to bring this glory to the college . Not only to the college, to the old boys, the nation, it’s something that is very great”.
Recounting the journey of his school to victory, Akande noted that “it has been tough”.
“We never pray for a smooth journey; we only pray for a smooth and glorious destination. And we thank God that since we have been grooming them since they came to this college, it has been tough,” said Akande. “And making them the product worth celebrating, we give glory to God.”
He added that the winning would never be a one-off victory.
“We have won and we need to win again. And so the journey to winning the second edition starts now. All hands are on deck to ensure that we win it again,” Akanded stated.
The principal thanked the organisers for creating a platform for such an inspiring competition.
“The quality of the organisation, the quality of the programme, the quality of the questions is something greatly commendable,” he said. “We thank them for the initiative and the encouragement it gives not only to our students, but to all students over the nation.”
Obaloluwa, the Team Lead of the students that won the trophy, said he was very excited and very happy to belong to the school that won the maiden edition of the competition.
“I’m very happy. The competition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They trained us very well, and we battled our way to win the trophy. And we will come again next year to win again,” he stated.
Mr Bassey Sunday, a mathematics teacher in the school who also contributed to the training of the students for the competition, said:
“I feel elated like a successful person. Preparing for every competition usually requires a lot of effort, a lot of time, and corrections here and there. You have to teach them how to answer questions quickly.
It’s not the same thing as when you are answering exam questions. Quiz questions are different, and answering them has to be very fast. These are questions that need to be answered within five seconds. What we have taught them at all the stages is that the way you answer this question is different from the way you answer every other question. You must look for the quickest way to attempt your question.”
Speaking earlier at the presentation of the award, Dr Ore Sofekun, consultant at the STEMAfrica Initiatives, thanked the management of Igbobi College for discharging their duty as educators.
She stressed the importance of alumni and parents supporting heritage schools to sustain their legacy for future generations. Sofekun encouraged the students to persevere in STEM despite challenges.
“We call it Champ High School because of our heritage and our legacy. Heritage because these are the schools that shaped Nigeria’s founding fathers, and legacy because we must ensure they continue to thrive for future generations,” she said.
