Top 10 best secondary schools in Nigeria

Last Updated Sep 2, 2024

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Image of Atlantic Hall's class room

The foundation of a better educational career begins with receiving a quality secondary education, which parents should prioritize by sending their children to one of the best secondary schools.

Secondary school education in Nigeria provides children with the fundamentals that will help them succeed in higher education, which is why enrolling your children in one of the best secondary schools in Nigeria is critical.

However, private schools have dominated as one of the best secondary schools in Nigeria over the years due to their educational system, which is instilled with excellent management coupled with a high-quality education.

If you are looking for one of the best secondary schools in Nigeria to enroll your children, check out our list of the top 10 best secondary schools in Nigeria, which will help you make the right decision.

Below is the list of the top 10 best secondary schools in Nigeria:

Top 10 best secondary schools in Nigeria

  1. American International School of Lagos
  2. Atlantic Hall
  3. Christ the King College, Onitsha
  4. Loyola Jesuit College
  5. King’s College
  6. Grange School, Ikeja, Lagos State
  7. The British International School, Lagos
  8. Vivian Fowler Memorial College
  9. Lumen Christi College Maya Ikorodu
  10. Day Waterman College, Ogun State

1.0 American International School of Lagos

The American International School of Lagos is the first secondary school on our list of the top 10 best secondary schools in Nigeria due to the high quality of its educational system.

The standard school, which occupies 6 acres of land in Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria, was established in 1964 with only 30 students and has grown to contain over 450+ students from over 40 different nationalities.

The American International School provides one of the best educational standards that will help your children develop their academic careers, guiding them to their paths of learning and growth, which has helped it rank as the number one best secondary school in Nigeria.

The school offers preschool to grade 12 education to its students with a variation in school fees ranging from $17,638 for early childhood, $21,653 from kindergarten to grade 5, $28,049 from 6 to 8, and $32,165 from grade 9 to 12.

Adding to its high standard of learning, the American International School has enough recreational equipment for its students to harness their passion and enhance a healthy life, earning it the rank of the best secondary school in Nigeria.

The after-school activities at American International School include physical activities such as gymnastics, boxing, basketball, volleyball, soccer, etc., and creative arts such as African drum and dance, cooking, bead making, drama, photography, piano lessons, poetry and graphics, KKB, hair-styling, and make-up.

2.0 Atlantic Hall

The Atlantic Hall private secondary school is the second best school among our top 10 best secondary schools in Nigeria, where you can enroll your children to receive a quality education and help them prepare for their university education.

The coeducational secondary school in Epe, Lagos State, Nigeria, was established in January 1989 by the Atlantic Hall Educational Trust Council, a registered non-profit sharing organization.

The school, which is a full-boarding school, holds over 600 students comprising junior and senior secondary, showing how much they have excelled to become one of the best secondary schools in Nigeria.

The Atlantic Hall has one of the best classrooms implemented to enhance a standard learning environment for its students. It is accompanied by a well-equipped library of over 15,000 books, periodicals, and audio-visuals.

The school also provides an e-library system to help students get acquainted with new technologies by providing them with computers in the library.

To enhance students' healthy living, Atlantic Hall has provided its students with conducive accommodations with common rooms, game areas, and study areas, a criterion that has contributed to its ranking as the second-best secondary school in Nigeria to enroll your children.

The fees of Atlantic Hall cover teaching, essential educational materials and textbooks, and many curriculum trips and can be paid with a card or bank transfer.

Note:

Parents with three or four children enrolled in the school receive a 10% to 15% discount.

Fees must be paid before resumption for each term/session as students will not be admitted into the hostels unless all outstanding fees are settled.

3.0 Christ the King College, Onitsha

Christ the King College, Onitsha, in Anambra state, Nigeria, is the third-best secondary school in our list of the top 10 best secondary schools in Nigeria.

The all-boys secondary school, established on February 2, 1933, is at Oguta Road, Onitsha, Anambra State, Nigeria. It is a highly-rated secondary school, popularly known as CKC. It was once rated as the best secondary school in Nigeria and 36th out of the top 100 best secondary schools in Africa as of 2014.

The Christian school is dedicated to enhancing intellectual and good moral behaviour in its students and has proven so with several of its notable alumni, including former Anambra state governor Peter Obi, former president of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA Olisa Agbakoba, and many others.

The boarding school has over 2,597 students in both the junior and senior secondary levels. Due to its high educational standards, Christ the King College has earned a place in our top 10 best secondary schools in Nigeria.

4. Loyola Jesuit College

Loyola Jesuit College Abuja is the fourth secondary school on our list of the top 10 best secondary schools in Nigeria. The school, which is located in the village of Gidan Mangoro, Abuja, is a private Catholic school established on October 2, 1996.

Having been ranked severally as one of the secondary schools by the West African Examination Council (WAEC), Loyola Jesuit earned its place among the top 10 best secondary schools in Nigeria.

The coeducational boarding secondary school is run by the Society of Jesus in Abuja, Nigeria, and has grown since 1996 with over 600 students.

Loyola Jesuit focuses on nurturing its students intellectually and with a good code of conduct, which speaks for itself with its WAEC results, propelling the school as one of the best secondary schools in Nigeria.

The Loyola Jesuit has provided a standard educational system to help develop its students individually through the organization of a platform where teachers meet with their students daily during registration and weekly for guidance lessons.

They also monitor their students' work rates through academic probation, which involves close supervision of their studies and teaching them how to study.

5.0 King's College

The King's College is the third Catholic secondary school and fifth on our list of the top 10 best secondary schools in Nigeria.

The all-boys secondary once admitted girls into the school during its early days before the creation of Queens College Lagos State Nigeria, known as its sister school.

It was established on September 20th, 1909, by an Act of the British Parliament. It runs day and boarding services, providing its students with a conducive environment for good learning.

Besides good learning facilities, King's College has also provided several facilities for extra-curricular activities, including a standard football field, badminton and squash courts, cricket pitch, basketball court, and table tennis.

6.0 Grange School, Ikeja, Lagos State

The Grange School was established in 1958 at No. 2 Harold Shodipo Crescent, GRA Ikeja, Lagos Mainland, Lagos State, Nigeria. It started with primary education before the addition of secondary education in 1998, which has grown to become the sixth-best secondary school among our top 10 best secondary schools in Nigeria.

Grange secondary school is a coeducational school built adjacent to its primary school. The school was built to enhance the British tradition in Nigerian society, providing comfortable standard accommodation for its students.

The Grange secondary school had over 756 students as of 2015, with over 430 girls and 326 boys, and has since excelled to a bigger height, earning a place in our top 10 best secondary schools in Nigeria.

The standard secondary school operates both day and boarding schools, focusing on impacting intellectually on its students and helping them improve their healthy living through the provision of extra-curricular activities such as track and field, football, swimming, basketball, dance, martial arts, and others.

7.0 The British International School, Lagos

The British International School, Lagos, was opened in 2001 to provide a British academic curriculum for day and boarding students ranging from 11 to 18 years in Nigeria.

It is a coeducational school located at Oniru Private Estate in Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria, with students and staff from over 10 nationalities.

The British International School aims to guide its students to a greater future and has shown that by producing a track record of outstanding performances nationwide, which has earned it the 7th position among our top 10 best secondary schools in Nigeria.

Like many other standard schools, British International School provides its students with extra-curricular activities to help them maintain a healthy lifestyle and physical fitness, including swimming and rugby.

8.0 Vivian Fowler Memorial College

Vivian Fowler Memorial College is the 8th secondary school on our list of the top 10 best secondary schools in Nigeria. It is the first all-girls secondary school on our list, making a difference for all girls' schools.

The secondary school, located in Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria, was established in 1991 by Mrs. Leila Fowler, who named the school after her late daughter.

It aims to reduce any form of bias in the choice of courses at the university level or career-wise by providing its girls with standard learning opportunities, building them to become leaders, including steam programs such as robotics and coding, girls' guide, and the Red Cross.

Outside of intellectual learning, Vivian Fowler Memorial College aims to nurture its girls to grow, live, and function as unique and respectable wives and mothers of tomorrow.

Vivian Fowler Memorial College also provides its students with various skills to help them prepare for a better career, such as clothing and textile designing and art drawing, a program that has earned it a spot as one of the best secondary schools in Nigeria.

9.0 Lumen Christi College Maya Ikorodu

Lumen Christi College, Maya Ikorodu, Lagos State, Nigeria, has earned a spot as the 9th secondary school among our top 10 best secondary schools in Nigeria.

The school was established in 2016 to assist students in discovering new skills and utilizing their intellectual gifts while providing a conducive learning environment.

The high-quality school offers both junior and secondary education, as well as a variety of subjects in various fields, including French and Spanish as foreign languages.

The secondary school has over 168 students and 30 teachers who ensure that they impact every student in the environment.

Lumen Christi College, Maya Ikorodu, has earned a spot on our list of the top 10 best secondary schools in Nigeria after producing several talented students since its inception in 2016.

10.0 Day Waterman College, Ogun state

Day Waterman College is a coeducational secondary school in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria, about an hour's drive from Lagos.

It has over 500 students aged 11 to 16, focusing on developing their intellectual skills and preparing them for a better career in the future.

The school, founded in 2008 by local philanthropist Mr.Tayo Aderinokun, MRF, earned a spot on our list of the best secondary schools in Nigeria due to its provision of UK-based education programs to its students while adhering to Nigerian academic guidelines.

The Day Waterman College is divided into two stages: KS3, designed for students aged 7 to 9, and KS4, designed for students aged 10 to 16.

The school also provides additional studies to its students preparing for the JAMB, SAT, and SSAT examinations. This program has helped improve its students' academic performance, earning them a spot as one of the best secondary schools in Nigeria.