Oyindamola Apampa, a 16-year-old student at Lagoon Secondary School in Lagos, Nigeria, scored 351 in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination after retaking it.
The student initially scored 158 due to technical issues at her examination centre. The UTME committee had earlier admitted to a technical glitch in their system that affected the scores of many students.
Apampa attributes her success to strategic preparation, resilience, and divine favour from God. She added, “In my first UTME attempt, I scored 158. However, the results were widely criticised and later acknowledged by the authorities as inaccurate due to technical glitches affecting several examination centres, including mine.
“In the resit, I achieved a score of 351, with scores of 65 in English Language, 98 in Mathematics, 98 in Physics, and 90 in Chemistry. My parents made our home a positive place for studying. We have a full library in the family living room, in addition to a separate multimedia study room where the whole family often gets together to talk about different topics and help each other”, she stated.
She further credited her success to the exam centre, where she had her mock exam. The centre’s preparation helped her to remain equipped and anticipate any form of question.
The centre’s head, Osayi Izedonmwen, attributed their 98 per cent pass rate in the 2025 UTME to their hybrid learning technique. “We are fully IT-equipped to seamlessly support both online and physical learning within a convenient and friendly environment. This has played a key role in helping our students excel,” Izedonmwen stated.
