Olashore Foundation Programmes: Scaling Through Admission Hurdles With

After Secondary school, most parents and wards wish their kids goes into the University as quick as possible, but at times, examinations such as Jamb, Post UTME, and the likes, poses a threat to the candidates seeking admission. As a result, some Nigerian Secondary Schools and even Universities have pre-university admission programmes that help to stand in the gap. For Olashore International Secondary School, there is a University Foundation Programme that helps to ease the transition of students from secondary to tertiary institutions.

In 2007 Olashore International School entered into partnership with Lancaster University in the UK to develop a Foundation Programme that would provide seamless transition from WASSCE to UK Universities. The Lancaster University Foundation Programme (LUFP) welcomed its first students in October 2007 and has since seen over 100 students join universities across the UK and beyond. Olashore International School and Lancaster University consistently place in the top ten institutions in their countries and share an underlying commitment to academic excellence alongside the development of each student to their full potentials.

The purpose of the Foundation programme is to provide students with necessary skills needed to go on to study for an undergraduate Bachelor Degree at Lancaster or any UK Universities. Students entering this programme would spend 1 year in Olashore International School, Nigeria and 3 years at Lancaster University or any UK University. 

In order to give its students more options to study in the UK and Ireland, the school has signed a memorandum of Understanding with the Institute of Education, Ireland, to offer foundation courses that will serve as a platform for students who wish to study medicine to easily transit into medical universities in Ireland and UK.

The Foundation Programme which is run in Olashore is open to any student who has completed Year 12 (SS3) and met the requirements for the programme.

The Lancaster Foundation Programme has three choices of pathways for every student which includes; Business & Management, Science & Computing, and Literary & Social Studies. Every student is required to offer core modules and also choose any three subjects from the pathway subjects depending on their career intentions. LUFP Core and pathway modules developed the students’ critical thinking, fluent oral presentations with effective use of visual aids, making inferences from analysis and enhanced basic application of inductive and deductive reasoning to solve a variety of problems.

In the same vein, the Pre-Medical Foundation Programme offered in partnership with the Institute of Education, Ireland, offers students a fast track alternative entry into top Irish universities to study medicine using the Irish Leaving Certificate. The Programme is structured such that students would spend one year in Olashore International School, Nigeria, and another one year in the Institute of Education, Dublin, Ireland, before seeking admission to study Medicine at top Irish Universities including the Royal College of Surgeons and Trinity College. The Institute of Education has been providing International Students a pathway to top Irish Universities for Medicine using the Irish Leaving Certificate (ILC) Programme.

At the Olashore University Foundation Programmes, Teachers are trained by UK teaching staff, while students attend a two week study which commences in October before the start of undergraduate degree. Students travel to UK in March during the one year foundation programme for taster lectures, acclimatization, interviews, Community service and volunteering programme which further develop their transition to independence.

According to the Principal, Olashore International School, Mr Derek Smith, “The Close relationship between the duo of Lancaster University and Institute of Education, Ireland, and Olashore creates a foundation programme that I believe is unique in its ability to prepare Nigeria students for UK universities and Irish Medical Universities. The programme was designed jointly by staff from the institutions mentioned above. This ensures that there is a depth of understanding of the abilities of students joining the course after completing WASSCE and that there is a clear understanding of the knowledge and abilities they need to transition smoothly to a UK university. The location of the programme within Olashore International School’s extensive 60 acre campus means that the University Foundation students have a safe and serene environment to begin their transition to independence. Looking at these young ones, I see young men and women grow from being bright secondary school students to become potential undergraduates. I take pride in knowing that we have prepared these students for any challenge that the University life will throw at them”. 

According to the Co-ordinator, Olashore University Foundation Programmes, Mr Hakeem Rufai, “The Purpose of the Foundation Programme is to provide students with necessary skills needed to go on to study for an undergraduate degree through the combination of core skills and pathway modules. Our teaching method is similar to the UK and Irish Universities and includes lectures, seminars, projects, tutorials and personal tutor system. We are committed to see our students grow in character and learning while preparing them for the challenges they will face at the University”.