It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the web presence of the Infant Jesus Academy in Asaba, Nigeria, where we are learning for life.
We are a co-educational private school community, drawn from various parts of the world and from across many different walks of life. We are brought together by a shared belief in the power of an outstanding education to help our young people succeed and to change lives, families, communities, nations – and even the world – for the better thereby. We are a school of Roman Catholic ethos and are we are very deliberate, therefore, in fostering a school culture underpinned by Christian values, chief among them being excellence, integrity and Christian servanthood.
Serving as a classroom practitioner within the British education system since 2003 and having been a leader within that system since 2006, I hold the view that school is a place in which progress and achievement should be expected of all – no exceptions, no excuses. Indeed, it is the right of every young person to learn and to do so with the care, guidance and support of adults who are passionate about them and their wellbeing. It is also the right of every young person to receive a quality education, that maximises their chances in life by encouraging positive behaviour and attitudes, taking into account their unique personal development needs. As a result, it is my responsibility as Principal to ensure we are an academy in which delivering this kind of education is the professional preoccupation of all staff.
I want all learners at our academy to develop into well-rounded, responsible young people, who can think critically and who are able to make a meaningful contribution to the world. They must leave us with a well-defined sense of their own potential and with a clear roadmap for how to achieve it. I want each young person for whose education we are responsible to be offered, and to take, every opportunity possible to become forward-thinking lifelong learners, creative problem solvers and dynamic visionaries. It is our aim to produce leaders, who are fully equipped with the qualifications, the social and cultural capital, the emotional intelligence and the moral compass required for navigating their way successfully through life, while competing credibly with their peers within Nigeria, within Africa and across the world.
It is to the provision of an education that delivers on these intentions that I am committed, as Principal; and it is upon the strategic leadership of the Infant Jesus Academy in making this kind of education a daily reality that I am unapologetically single-minded in my focus.
I am excited about our learners, and I am proud of our academy!
I look forward to welcoming your child into our learning community, in full expectation of the life-altering impact their time with us will have upon them. I look forward, also, to partnering with you as we work tirelessly together to support them in learning for life!
The Most Revd Dr Otis V. Wilks
Principal