Government College Ibadan (founded 28 February 1929) is a boys'

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

located on the hills of Apata Ganga in

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the List of Nigerian cities by population, third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano (city), Kano, with a total populatio ...

, Nigeria.

History

The founding fathers of Government College Ibadan were

Selwyn MacGregor Grier Sir Selwyn Macgregor Grier (1 April 1878 – 8 November 1946) was a British colonial administrator, List of governors of the Windward Islands, Governor-in-Chief of the Windward Islands from 1935 to 1937. He was the eldest child of Richard Macgreg ...

, Director of Education, Southern Provinces, who conceived the idea of the school, and E. R. Swanston, Inspector of Education. The school was conceived and founded on 28 February 1929. The first principal was C. E. Squire, the second principal was H. T. C. Field, while V. B. V. Powell was the third principal. Government College was modelled on the British public boarding schools of the era, and the first set of students was numbered 29. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the school temporarily moved to several sites before finally resettling back at its original site. The alumnus popularly called Old Boys, holds an annual reunion event in order to properly connect and reconnect with former Old Boys. The giant school has 11 key Old boys as board of Trustees including SAN Lawyer Wale Babalakin as its Present Chairman.

Administrative Control

The school offers both junior secondary and senior secondary education where it is being managed by each independent administrative control i.e. Principal and Vice Principal. While both schools has its own independent academic control, there is a unified governing body that oversees the whole affairs of Government College, Ibadan, where it consists of each independent control from each school having Engr. Femi Babalola as the Chairman, GCI School Governing Board.

Curriculum

All students were required to complete a number of core courses in the arts and sciences. The courses were designed so that all students, no matter what their strengths were, obtained the basic skills of

critical thinking Critical thinking is the process of analyzing available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to make sound conclusions or informed choices. It involves recognizing underlying assumptions, providing justifications for ideas and actions, ...

, effective writing, effective

oral The word oral may refer to: Relating to the mouth * Relating to the mouth, the first portion of the alimentary canal that primarily receives food and liquid **Oral administration of medicines ** Oral examination (also known as an oral exam or ora ...

communication, library literacy, laboratory competency,

creative thinking Creativity is the ability to form novel and valuable ideas or works using one's imagination. Products of creativity may be intangible (e.g. an idea, scientific theory, literary work, musical composition, or joke), or a physical object (e.g. a ...

and

problem solving Problem solving is the process of achieving a goal by overcoming obstacles, a frequent part of most activities. Problems in need of solutions range from simple personal tasks (e.g. how to turn on an appliance) to complex issues in business an ...

. The school offers present day junior and senior secondary academic curriculum. The school was also known for

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

and

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

. The school also had an

Officer Cadet Officer cadet is a rank held by military personnel during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by personnel of University Service Units such as the University Officers' Training Corps. Th ...

Corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

that offered instruction camps in precision field drills, adventure training and the cadets were introduced to the principles of

meritocracy Meritocracy (''merit'', from Latin , and ''-cracy'', from Ancient Greek 'strength, power') is the notion of a political system in which economic goods or political power are vested in individual people based on ability and talent, rather than ...

Laurels in academics

In the period before the dissolution of the country's Western Region, the school earned the fame of being the best secondary school in Nigeria. It had well-resourced classrooms and laboratories. As the school grew in numbers of students, in reputation and in fame, its students achieved consistently high scores for exam results at O-level and

A-level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

. In the 1960s, more than 78% distinctions were obtained by Government College students in the external examinations, an unprecedented achievement in Nigeria. In the decade of the 1970s the school upheld its records in both the academic and extracurricular fields. The school has produced more than 80% of the presidents of the Nigerian Society of Engineers since its inception, and one of the only four Africans to be awarded a

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

School houses

*Carr House (Yellow) *Field House (Green) *Grier House (Maroon) *Powell House (Purple) *Swanston House (Blue)

Notable alumni

* Adegoke Adelabu (1915–1958), distinguished politician * Akinola Aguda (1923–2001), first Chief Justice of

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

* T. M. Aluko (1918–2010), eminent scholar and author * Segun Awolowo (born 1963), Lawyer & Businessman * Wale Babalakin (born 1960), Lawyer & President GCIOBA * Cyprian Ekwensi (1921–2007), distinguished author * Erediauwa, (1923–2016), King of Benin, Nigeria * Abel Guobadia (1932–2011), Ambassador, former Chairman,

Independent National Electoral Commission Independent National Electoral Commission may refer to: *Independent National Electoral Commission (Burundi) *Independent National Electoral Commission (Democratic Republic of the Congo) *Independent National Electoral Commission (Guinea) The Inde ...

* Christopher Kolade (born 1932), Nigerian Ambassador to the United Kingdom * Ifedayo Oladapo (1932–2010), University Vice-Chancellor * Victor Omololu Olunloyo (born 1935), former

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Oyo State Oyo is a States of Nigeria, state in South West (Nigeria), southwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Ibadan, the List of Nigerian cities by population, third most populous city in the country and formerly the second most populous city in Africa. Oyo ...

* Femi Osofisan (born 1946), Professor of Theater Arts * Ayo Rosiji (1917–2000), industrialist, former Minister of Labour * Olaokun Soyinka (born 1958), Medical Doctor *

Wole Soyinka Wole Soyinka , (born 13 July 1934) is a Nigerian author, best known as a playwright and poet. He has written three novels, ten collections of short stories, seven poetry collections, twenty five plays and five memoirs. He also wrote two transla ...

(born 1934), first African literary

Nobel Laureate The Nobel Prizes (, ) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in th ...

References

External links

*
FGC and F.G.G.C classmate, old student Network Alumni
website
Apata Ganga - My GCI Years
{{coord missing, Nigeria Secondary schools in Oyo State Boys' schools in Nigeria Buildings and structures in Ibadan Schools in Ibadan History of Ibadan Educational institutions established in 1929 1929 establishments in Nigeria