Nigerian Students Win 41 STEM Medals at Rome Olympiad

When students from a Nigerian school compete against the world's brightest young minds in science and engineering, you might expect them to simply participate. Instead, they came home as champions.

Charles Dale Memorial International School in Port Harcourt sent students to the 2026 International STEM Olympiad in Rome this July. The team returned with 41 international medals: nine gold, four silver, 15 bronze, and 13 honorable mentions.

Six students earned global rankings in their competitions. Three finished second in the world, and another three placed third in the Do-It-Yourself Plane Challenge, where students design and build their own aircraft.

This victory follows a pattern of international success. In 2025, student Julio Ojiaku became world champion in coding at the Barcelona olympiad. That same year, the school earned 42 international recognitions.

In 2024, two students placed second in the world at The Hague olympiad. The school's journey into global STEM competitions started in 2023 when students represented Nigeria at the World Robot Olympiad in Panama City.

The Ripple Effect

The school's approach extends beyond competition prep. Students participate in The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award, a youth development program that combines adventure, service, and skill-building.

Through this program, students teach their skills to children in public schools and underserved communities. Two student-led businesses, 9Jabite and Reverer Scent, emerged from entrepreneurial training within the program.

Students regularly organize community service projects, visiting homes for the elderly and participating in environmental initiatives. These experiences teach them that success means creating value for others, not just earning medals.

The combination of technical excellence and character development shows what happens when schools prepare students for real-world challenges rather than just exams. Charles Dale proves that Nigerian students can compete with anyone when given the right opportunities and support.

These young innovators are already solving problems and building businesses while still in school, suggesting a bright future for Nigeria's next generation of leaders.