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In 2023, Mmesoma Okonkwo received the British Council Outstanding Cambridge Learner’s Award (Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education Top in the World 2022) after recording the highest score in English as a Second Language in the Cambridge IGCSE examination.

Ms Okonkwo is from Nnewi, Anambra State. She lives in Lagos and was an SS3 student at Chrisland High School, Victoria Garden City (VGC) at the time of her achievement. She was the school’s head girl.

Her father Emmanuel Okonkwo is an engineer while her mother Nneka Okonkwo is a civil servant.

She won the Lagos State Inter-School Essay Competition in 2022 and was best in Humanities at Chrisland Group Awards in 2023.

What makes Mmesoma’s feat even more admirable is that she not only topped the global charts in the Cambridge English examination but also scored A1 in all nine subjects in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WAEC), a double distinction that places her in an elite class of academic prodigies.

Cambridge International, a division of the University of Cambridge, noted in its statement that Mmesoma demonstrated exceptional command of written and spoken English, exhibiting the highest degree of comprehension, creativity, grammar, and interpretation among all 2023 candidates worldwide.

According to a representative of Cambridge Assessment International Education at the 2023 series, “Her excellence is a testament to her diligence, the quality of education she received, and the power of global academic competitiveness.”

Mmesoma Okonkwo has expressed her desire to pursue a degree in business at a reputable university, either in Nigeria or abroad, with the dream of eventually running her multinational enterprise that will focus on youth empowerment and education reform.

“Business is not just about profit,” Mmesoma said during her graduation speech in 2023.

“It’s about creating systems that empower people. I want to lead a company that invests in young people, especially girls, to show them that intelligence, not just beauty, can take them places.”