By Wilson Adekumola
The Royal Kriston College, located on 1, Akinyemi Ibironke Avenue, AIT Road, Alagbado, Lagos, was a beehive of activities on Thursday, February 18 as the school marked the 5th edition of its Royal Fiesta tagged, “Royal Fiesta 2021”.
contestants at the competition
Master. and Miss. Royal emerge
The fiesta which spanned three days featured drama, pageant, talent hunts, and meritorious awards for the students.
But the most inspiring moment of the ceremony was the emergence of Miss and Mr. Royal.
Participants at the event were awed when Ghana-born Frimpomg Allswell and Ugo Daniel were crowned respectively as the winners.
Eight students including five girls and three boys took part in the selection process which involved dressing skill, cat-walking, intelligence, self-confidence, and table etiquette.
Frimpomg, a 15-year-old SS2 student could not hide her emotion when she took over the crown from her predecessor, Miss Mofeoluwa Oshowo, a 16-year-old SS2 student.
She said, “I knew I could win it because I had already dreamt about it. But then, I was also not expecting to win because there are a lot of talented contestants that could have won it as well but I thank God it is a dream come true.
“I feel very happy that I eventually won it after rigorous activities as the selection process dictates. I am a naturally sociable person and I believe this will enhance my social life as it will also motivate my academic life. My message to other contestants is that they should not feel dejected because we are all winners.” She encouraged.
In a similar vein, Ugo a 14-year-old SS1 student who won the male laurel said, “I feel so excited to have won the pageant. I have been working tirelessly to ensure I come out victorious. I thank God for His mercy. It is the Lord’s doing. Any other person could have won it. Though, we all relatively won the competition because we all received awards.” He asserted.
The former Miss Royal, Mofeoluwa Oshowo who described her experience for the past year as exciting saying her successor should not let it get into her brain but see it as an opportunity to prepare herself exceedingly well for her academics because all eyes will be on her.
“The experience has been fantastic most especially when I heard people calling me ‘Miss Royal’ here and there. I feel important and there was joy in my heart. You know what it means to have been adjudged the winner of such a reputable pageant. I think every girl wants to be addressed that way. It has really helped me a lot in my academics. It made me put more effort into my academics because there are junior students who are looking up to me as their models.
“My status as Miss Royal has really helped me in my social life too. I know how to dance now unlike before because I rehearsed it when I was contesting. I will advise my successor to always put in her best in everything she does most especially in her academics. She should not let it overwhelm her. I want her to see this as an opportunity to prepare herself very well for her academics because everybody will be looking at her.”
winners of the contest
Royal Kristin: We build total student
The Group Principal of Royal Group of Schools, Mr. Bartram Anya told Church Times what is peculiar about this edition noting that they keep improving and they have added a lot of activities to the royal fiesta.
“We have made it very motivational. For instance, we have included a cake cutting session, there are more traditional outfits, unlike the previous ones where they just came on stage and we crowned them. This time around we also delved into academics, we will ask them questions and they will answer and we evaluate the way they speak too”.
On the concept behind the Royal Fiesta, he disclosed, “We believe not just in academics, we believe in an all-round education. There is something which we normally do that we called ‘Three Bs’; Brain, Bold and Beautiful, by the time you have these three things you are good to go into the society and you will survive,
“We teach them enterprise skills that will make them survive and laid the foundation for their prosperity as they pass through this college.”
When asked if this has contributed to both their academic and social life, Anya said, “Of course It has actually contributed to both their academic and social life, when you say you are a product of this school, you can stand anywhere in the society to talk and be able to defend yourself.
“We don’t allow this to crush their brain because we feel to even win this accolade you have to be academically sound so after being crowned you don’t want to let yourself down because socially you should be there, academically you should not be lagging and you should able to defend yourself anywhere. We don’t want them to fail in all facets of life.”
The Royal Group of Schools is government-approved. It was established in the year 2001 with about six branches across the State. They have produced a lot of graduates who are making exploits in their respective endeavours.
Roy-Lamide Bosun, best graduating student of 2017/2018 academic session, Chemical Engineering Department, University of Lagos, is a product of the school.
