Five students from Chrisland Schools have emerged as the first in Africa to receive eStars awards.
eStars is an innovative educational esports platform in the United Kingdom.
The students, Khadijah Alege, Khalid Olatunji, Brian Leghemo, Adeolu Adewumi, and Ayomide Ojo, were recognised at the launch of eStars in Nigeria, which was held at the British High Commission in Lagos on Tuesday.
Eleven-year-old Alege, a year seven student, earned a star award as one of the top five students honoured by eStars at an event marking the launch of a strategic partnership between Chrisland Schools Limited and eStars.
The stellar performances of Chrisland Schools’ students globally explain why platforms like eStars introduce innovative academic and game-changing initiatives to the school.
It would be recalled that Chrisland Schools’ Mmesomachukwu Okonkwo emerged as the top candidate in the world in English as a second language (speaking endorsement) at the 2022 Cambridge IGCSE, while Oluwabukolami Adeyemi secured the top spot in the world in law and received the High Achievement Award for Cambridge AS Level Psychology in 2022.
Also, recently, Zara Sule emerged as the gold medalist at the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2023 (Senior Category).
At the official launch, the managing director of Chrisland Schools Limited, Mrs Ibironke Adeyemi, applauded the timely partnership with eStars, noting that education in this century should be forward-thinking, innovative, engaging, and fascinating.
Hosting the eStars team for dinner, Mrs Adeyemi, on behalf of the founder and chairman of Chrisland Schools, Mrs Winifred Awosika, welcomed the team to Nigeria and extolled the school’s enduring legacy over 47 years.
She said, “We are proud of our brand and proud that we are contributing tremendously to education in Nigeria and Africa.”
At the dinner, 10-year-old Falomo Ernest (Year 7), who had interacted with the platform, described it as having a beautiful outlook and sectors from which a player can choose. He noted that the platform includes sections where players can see their progress, average score, and time spent on the game.
“The platform has taught me cooperative skills as I have had to play football with a team online, quick decision-making, and how to explore more,” he said, recommending the platform to all young people as it boosts every aspect of education.
The school’s PTA chairman, Reverend ThankGod Oganwo, commended the initiative and assured the school maximum cooperation.
Founder and chief executive officer of eStars, Mags Byrne, affirmed that Chrisland was the first school approached by the team for the pilot programme in Nigeria.
According to Byrne, eStars aims to revolutionise education and equip students for prosperous careers in the rapidly growing gaming industry by integrating eSports into school curricula. She said this offers students a unique and engaging way to learn essential skills such as teamwork, innovation, leadership, and time management.
