Ex-Bridge Pupil Selected for African Leadership Academy

Funmi Ogundare

A graduate of Bridge School, Ibeju Lekki, Miss Fatimat Ibrahim, has been selected as one of the 2021/2022 African Leadership Academy (ALA) finalists, having demonstrated outstanding potential in leadership, entrepreneurship, passion for Africa and academic achievement. Fatimat emerged as the best performing female pupil in the national common entrance examination in 2019, which​ qualified her for selection on merit to attend a federal secondary school of her choice.​
Due to her exceptional performance, she won a scholarship from the Purple Girl Foundation, covering her secondary school education.
Fatimat’s success story started when her mother enrolled her at Bridge, a school with a track record of supporting and training teachers to help bring out the best in their pupils. According to her “my teachers make lessons fun and interesting, and are always happy to explain anything I​ find confusing.​
The once timid Fatimat came out of her shell as a result of the personable approach used by Bridge in teaching. The school uses a teaching and learning approach that involves age-appropriate learning, by adapting to a child’s level of understanding, identifying the readiness of a child to learn, and then following the best-suited method of teaching.
Another ex-pupil, Master Shiji Sowemimo recounted how the experiences at Bridge propelled him to continue to excel and break boundaries even in his secondary school. Shiji who was the best performing Bridge pupil in the 2021 national common entrance exams, urged all Bridge pupils to continue to be worthy ambassadors of the school, as they continue their academic pursuit and encouraged them to remain focused, dream big, be resourceful, plan to succeed and never get tired of making a difference. “I am privileged to share my experiences and successes with you because of the support I have received from my mother, teachers and level of hard work and dedication I have put into my studies,” he said
A top performing Queens College student, Miss Anuoluwapelumi Dawodu also graduated from a Bridge school in 2020. She describes herself as a confident, hard working girl who loves reading books about history and hopes to become an archaeologist in  future.
The Managing Director, Bridge Nigeria, Foyinsola Akinjayeju said the school is proud of its efforts to elevate every child’s prospects through quality education as a foundation for broader life opportunities.
​”We have designed our classrooms, teaching materials and school structure to empower and support our pupils. This takes deliberate thought and intentional design.”​
She noted that as children transition through the learning continuum, early education experiences, set the stage for their future success, adding,​ “access to quality education, supportive parents and highly motivated teachers trained on how to meet the academic and moral developmental needs of the people, young children are placed on sturdy pathways to educational and lifelong success.”