Holy Child College, the Catholic school for girls in Lagos, Nigeria, that was started by the Society on April 9, 1945 is celebrating 70 years this year.

The school, which serves young women ages 9 to 17 from all over the region and some from out of state, is renown for its impressive academics and equally impressive students.

Look at our photo album from a recent visit to the school on Flickr.

“When you go out with the girls people make comments about how our girls carry themselves, how neat they look, how confident they are. And I think that’s what attracts a lot of people to the school,” said Rosemary “Ify” Atuegbu, the school’s administrator.

Ify said that during a recent entrance exam “you could see the anxiety” of students and their parents who wanted to perform well.

Students have an option to board at the school, which is almost finished building an additional boarding facility.

In 1972 the country’s government took over Holy Child College and other schools and “academics and morals went down the drain,” Ify said. The school was given to the diocese there in 2001 and since then they have been “working very hard to restore it to its former glory.”

After the young women graduate they go on to attend universities in Africa, the United States and Asia.

“Our students do very well academically. Their grades are very high, and their performance very impressive. And they are very polite,” she added.

The school is celebrating with an International Community Day, Pontifical High Mass, Tree Planting and Blessing of the New Hostel, among other events.

“A Holy Child education identifies and promotes the unique gifts in each child and provides holistic education for the children by creating a learning climate that is based on trust and reverence for the dignity of every student,” Ify said.