The decisions that parents make on behalf of their children during their early lives can impact their career path and future. A delighted parent has expressed her satisfaction for the decision she made years ago regarding her children’s education.

This is coming on the heels of her daughter, Miss Anuoluwapelumi Dawodu, emerging as the best performing female pupil at Bridge International Academies at Awoyaya in the recent common entrance examination, by scoring an impressive 186 marks out of 200. Bridge is well known in Lagos for providing exceptional education in underserved communities.

Mrs Dawodu, who couldn’t hold back her joy for her daughter’s accomplishment, said she was glad that she paid attention to the quality of teaching and learning that the school had to offer when she was making her decision about how to educate her children. Speaking further, Mrs Dawodu said she first heard about the school from a Community Ambassador, for Bridge International Academies, a network of nursery and primary schools that serve low-income communities across Lagos and Osun States.

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According to her, she didn’t make any decision, not until she met a friend within the neighbourhood who also had a child in the school and gave more insight about the unique Bridge model, method of teaching and the quality of teachers. “Looking back, I am happy I made the decision to enrol them at Bridge because ensuring that our children have the best education foundation and are set for a successful future and a good quality of life was what my husband and I wanted for them”. She said.

Recounting how she was able to achieve the feat of exam success, despite the school’s closure and long stay at home as a result of the pandemic, Miss Anuoluwapelumi attributed her achievement to the continual support she got from her school, despite closures, and the encouragement from her parents.

According to her, “I was always reading and studying with the daily lessons provided by Bridge.” Bridge supported all primary 6 pupils with free common entrance prep questions, in addition to the daily lessons in the @Home remote learning programme which include learning guides, self-study activity packs, digital storybook library and free mobile interactive quizzes designed to keep children learning throughout the pandemic.

Anuoluwapelumi describes herself as a confident, hardworking girl who loves reading books about history and hopes to become an Archeologist in the future. She developed interest in Archeology when she read about a volcanic eruption that destroyed an entire village in Peru. “Since then, I have been curious to know more about what caused it and analyse the remains of the artefacts’ She noted.

When asked what her favourite subject is,“Maths is my favourite subject because it tasks my brain and enables me to think faster”. She answered. Miss Anuoluwapelumi said she would miss her school because the method of teaching and classroom management techniques enable pupils to work harder and be of good behaviour. Her favourite teachers are Esther Osime and Victor Adeyanju because they were great teachers who taught well and encouraged her to be better at whatever she did.

The Academics Director at Bridge Lagos, Mrs. Rhoda Odigboh said: “Our teachers must take some credit for the success of their pupils. The learning gains continually evidenced by our pupils is as a result of the dedication, passion and hard work by our teachers who are at the heart of our mission of delivering a life-changing education for children.”

“The success our children have achieved in the national exam shows what Bridge has always believed that every Nigerian child can excel, no matter what their background, if given the right opportunities, supportive teachers and empowering schools. Odigboh added.

Bridge International Academies has been supporting community schools across Lagos since

2015. 2019 was the first year that the school network entered pupils for the National Common Entrance exam; with the pupils scoring extremely well. The impressive results in the Nigerian national exams in the two consecutive years provide further evidence that Bridge provides a strong education to children in Nigeria.

For Mrs Dawodu and every other parent, ensuring that children are supported with good schools and are given the platform to succeed is what is paramount to them. Now, Anuolwapelumi is on the path to pursuing her dream of becoming an Archeologist, having gained admission to a top secondary school in Lagos based on her performance in the national common entrance examination.

As schools start to re-open in Lagos and Osun; many parents will be thinking about the kind of future that they want for their children and the kind of education that will help them get there; Anuolwapelumi’s journey is an interesting example to consider.

Vanguard News Nigeria