Philosophy

The Founding Fathers of the School were church-men of the Anglican denomination. In spite of this, they did not discriminate as regards the type of pupils that should attend the school or the personnel that should work there. The doors of the school were thrown open. As a result, pupils attended the school from all corners of Nigeria and from all countries along the West coast of Africa. Over the years, pupils have also attended the school from South Africa, Europe and Asia. So also have teachers come from all corners of the globe. A cursory look at the commemorative stone on the Main Building at the (old) site at Igbein will show that Egba citizens of various religious persuasions took part in the Foundation laying ceremony.

The founding fathers believed strongly in the training of both the mind and the body. It was their view that education should equip a pupil with those qualities that would make him useful to community, his country and the world, his home and himself also. An educated person should be able to use his brain and his hands effectively. Most importantly, character training is to be rated far above mere academic pursuit because these founding fathers believed that no meaningful success could be achieved in life without good character and good discipline.

As a result, the life of the school rests squarely on a bedrock of discipline. The pupils are taught to live by motto of the school – “Iberu Oluwa ni ipinle ogbon.” A number of moral sayings peculiar to the school are also constantly brought to memory of the pupils at Assembly or at any school gathering. Among such sayings are:

“My character is greater than my books”
“A good name is better than silver or gold”
“There is no shame in soiling one’s hands with honest endeavour”.
“Only the best is good enough for Abeokuta Grammar School”.
“Abeokuta Grammar School first, Abeokuta Grammar School last,
Abeokuta grammar School all the time.”

In addition, the pupils are taught to relish hard work, to be honest, tidy and truthful at all times and to remember that they are ambassadors of their school and their homes anywhere they may be.