Ferscoat School, Lagos has again established its place as a leading institution of learning with the emergence of one of its learners, Miss Idowu Oluwadarasimi Elizabeth as winner of the 2025 National Mathematics Competition.
The event held at Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto State from August 31 to September 5, 2025 featured representatives from the 36 states of the federation in the final.
Two of Ferscoat School students qualified for the national competition as representatives of Lagos State having won the state edition of the competition.
Idowu Oluwadarasimi Elizabeth competed in the Senior Category and won first position out of 22 participants. She defeated representatives of Benue State who came 2nd while Oyo State placed 3rd.
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Sunday Dominion also from Ferscoat School competed in Junior Category but placed 9th at the Olympiad out of 23 participants – Ogun State claimed first and second position while Oyo state came third.
According to the coordinator of the Olympiad, Mr. N. T. A. Abdul who is also the Vice Chairman of the Mathematics Association of Nigeria (MAN); “all the students that represented Lagos state gave a good account of themselves and gave the state a wonderful representation that saw the state winning highest number of awards in the competition, 3rd position in the primary category, quiz; 2nd position in the primary category, Olympiad; 1st position in the senior category, Olympiad; best female in the primary category; and best female in the senior category.
He said: “I salute the confidence and composure of Elizabeth, she is a 1st class material if managed and motivated properly.
“Ferscoat has been consistent in performance in the state Olympiad. The teachers needed to be specially congratulated and appreciated for the passion to which they put in to ensure that the school is placed on the map.
“For better performance in the future, I’ll suggest that the teachers encourage the students to do more critical thinking by giving them tasks that involves applications and thinking out of the box to solve problems with little or no guide from the teachers, where possible.
“Competitions do not have syllabus nor scheme of work that can be used as guide for preparation. This means that there’ll be need for the teachers to prepare the students beyond their level.
“For the junior category, some elementary pure mathematics topics can be added to the contents as it affected them during the quiz. While, the senior category should inculcate further mathematics topics with some consideration for topics in mechanics and vectors.
“The competition started with the Olympiad after which the quiz held while the marking of the Olympiad was going on.
“The state came 3rd in the primary category but dropped out after the 4th round in the senior category and after the 2nd round at the junior category.
Six students represented the state out of the 12 students that qualified to represent the state – 2 for each category.
While celebrating the school’s impressive performance at the national level, the principal, Mr. Fred Opata said: “It is to the glory of God and only shows the hard work put in place by the entire school community at ensuring excellence at all levels.
“If you work hard, you will shine more and more as it is said in Proverbs 4:18. I always tell my students to die to their body, hard work truly pays.”
He explained that; “the school has developed a strategy for competitions, we have a committee in place for all competitions. Last year we came third in the Awokoya Chemistry competition, 3rd in MAN Olympiad competition and this year it’s been much better. It falls back to the strategy put in place even thou one cannot overrule the place of personal development of the learner.
Talking about incentives to motivate the teachers for this outstanding performances, Mr. Opata said: “The school will do the right thing for the learner and teacher; “I encourage all parents to support their wards academically, emotionally, spiritually and financially. There is no limit to success a child can bring to his/her parent so long as these support systems are put in place. For the learners, they should always put in best in their academic adventures. Proverbs 22:29 paraphrased says they will stand before kings when they are diligent at what they do”.
The 16-year-old SSS3 Elizabeth described her feat in a unique way: “Honestly, my motivation was a mix of my own drive and the support I got from people around me. I wanted to prove to myself that with hard work and consistency, I could really achieve something big. At the same time, I thought about my parents’ sacrifices, my teachers who kept believing in me, and even my friends who challenged me to do better. I didn’t want to disappoint them, and that kept me going.”
“The competitors were very sharp, and the standard of the competition was truly high. Some solved questions so quickly it felt like they had rehearsed the answers overnight, while others showed real strength in breaking down complex problems. They definitely kept me alert throughout, and that’s part of what made the win even more satisfying.
“The competition was both tough and exciting. At first, I was a bit tense, but once I started, I realized some questions just needed careful thinking. Sections A and B weren’t too bad once I understood the wording. Section C was another story really challenging, but I did my best and pushed through. Overall, it stretched me, taught me a lot, and I actually enjoyed the whole process.”
“The standard of the competition was really high. The questions weren’t the type you just breeze through, they demanded real thinking and speed. As for the other schools, they didn’t come to play at all everyone clearly prepared and brought their A-game. It actually made the whole thing more interesting, because competing with strong teams pushed me to give my best too.”
Having scaled through the national competition, Elizabeth is not scared of competing on global stage with her experience from competition.
She said: “Honestly, I can’t say I’m 100% sure yet, but this competition has definitely boosted my confidence. It showed me I can handle tough questions under pressure, and with more practice, I believe I can hold my own at that level. So yes, I’m hopeful and if the opportunity comes, I’ll be ready to give it my best.”
Her coach who is also the school’s mathematics teacher; Mr. Peter Akintayo had this to say on the preparations that led to the learners’ performance; “We created a balance of rigorous practice and constant motivation. The learners were given past questions, mock drills, and time bound exercises to sharpen their speed and accuracy. But beyond the academics, we encouraged them with words, reminded them of their potential, and built their confidence to face the pressure of competition.
In his assessment of competitors from other schools, Mr. Akintayo said: “The competitors from other schools were strong and very prepared. Their performance pushed our learners to stay focused and not relax. It was clear that many schools are investing heavily in building mathematical talent, which made the competition truly tough and exciting.
As one who was instrumental to this achievement at the national level Mr. Akintayo expressed the confidence and readiness of his students to compete at the world stage:
“Yes, absolutely. This victory is proof of their readiness. However, we are not resting we know the world stage demands even more. With extra training, exposure to international style questions, and continuous guidance, we are confident they can represent the county well globally.
In his assessment of other participants in the competition, Mr. Akintayo said: “Every learner showed growth. Even those who didn’t emerge as winners developed resilience, critical thinking, and teamwork skills. They are stronger in problem solving than when they started, and that was a big win for us as teachers.
On plans improvements and the lessons learnt from the competition Akintayo said: “One clear lesson is that preparation must go beyond knowledge learners must also build confidence and composure. Going forward, we plan to introduce more simulation exercises, broaden their exposure to diverse problem types, and strengthen mentorship so that every learner, not just the champions, can excel even further.
BV.
