The Francis and Fidelia Ibhawoh Foundation and CSED (Community Sports and Educational Development) Initiative recently rewarded the hockey players of St. Maria Goretti Girls’ Grammar School, Benin City, with cash gifts. The hockey team of the school won a silver medal for Edo State during the National Youth Games that were held in Asaba in July 2025.
The event, which was held at the school’s hockey ground, was attended by Sabina Chikere, the Executive Director of the Edo State Sports Commission. Dr. Celestina Aletor represented the Old Girls’ Association of the school. On the ground to receive the visitors were the principal of the senior school, Mrs. Abieyuwa Abu-Osagie, Mr. Edosa Osaigbovo, Mr. Earnest Iyare, and the school hockey coach, Sylvester Aigbo.
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St Maria Goretti Girl’s Grammar School is the only secondary school in Nigeria that has a hockey AstroTurf pitch. The school’s hockey-playing tradition goes back as far as the early 70s, when the school was under the control of the Catholic mission in Benin City.
Sabina Chikere encouraged the students to keep working hard in both their academic pursuits and improving their athletic ability. She stated that they have a good example in Dr. Celestina Aletor to look up to. As she is not just a former hockey player who represented the school, she was so good at the game that the Federal Government of Nigeria gave her a university scholarship.
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Furthermore, Dr. Aletor is a former principal of the school, and she still plays an active role in representing the interests of the Old Girls’ Association and carrying out other mediation and negotiation work with external organizations in order to ensure that the school is restored to her past glory of being among the best girls’ schools in Edo State.
Dr Aletor pointed out that courtesy of the Old Girls’ Association, the school boasts a well-equipped IT lab that is second to none in Nigeria. The school has acquired more than 30 sewing machines, head dressing equipment and an equipped home economics lab. The intention of the school’s Old Girls’ Association is to provide the current students with access to vocational skills development opportunities. Some of these vocational opportunities would be available to the students while they are still enrolled in the school or immediately after writing their WAEC/NECO examinations.
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To crown it all, the Old Girls’ Association recently donated what they call in local parlance a “tear rubber new chassis” school bus to their alma mater.
The highlight of the event was the presentation of cash gifts to 14 ex-students of the hockey team who graduated in July 2025, as well as 22 current students of the school. As part of the school talent identification program, some of the current hockey team players are in junior secondary school. In order to ensure that the game of hockey is taken to the next level, the two NGOs have arranged for 25 preloved hockey sticks to be delivered to the school hockey team.
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Furthermore, the two NGOs are currently exploring the possibility of providing the school hockey team players access to take part in the “Sporting Coders” program. This program would give the students the opportunity to learn how to code while at the same time playing the game (hockey) they love. The Sporting Coders program was successfully piloted in April 2024 in Bayelsa State by the netball team of Tare Pet School. 12 out of the 21 netballers that took part in the Sporting Coders pilot program have gained admission into different universities in Nigeria.
This is a further example that with the right support of parents, school authorities, and coaches, Nigerian secondary school students can combine their academic pursuits with taking part in sports.
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Finally, while the Old Girls’ Association of St MGGGS keeps raising the bar in attracting skills-building opportunities to their alma mater, the Ministry of Education is expected to raise their game by ensuring that they provide the school with qualified vocational education teachers, who will put the idle equipment into good use.