SHRS — The Student Experience Edition

Sultan Hanafi Royal Schools · Nigeria

The Student
Experience Edition

Not the story of a building. The story of a childhood — from a toddler's first day to a Hafiz's last Juz’.

Est. July 2016 · Ikorodu, Lagos State2026
Publisher's Imprint

Institutional Publication Information

InstitutionSultan Hanafi Royal Schools
PublisherSultan Hanafi Royal Schools, acting through the Office of the Founder & Head of Schools / Administrator
Address15, Imowonla Road, AP Bus Stop, Off Gberigbe–Agura Road, Ikorodu, Lagos State, Nigeria
Websiteshroyalschools.com
Email[email protected]
Telephone+234 (0) 807 374 7650 · +234 (0) 807 058 6860
Copyright© Sultan Hanafi Royal Schools. All rights reserved within the Institution.
ClassificationPublic institutional publication of Sultan Hanafi Royal Schools.
Archival StatementRetained in the Institution's publications archive; superseded editions remain on record.
Printing SpecificationSet for A4 (210mm × 297mm) digital distribution and print-on-demand reproduction.
Rights StatementMay be shared unaltered for admissions and public-information purposes; not for modification or commercial redistribution without the Institution's written authorisation.
Document TitleSultan Hanafi Royal Schools — The Student Experience Edition
Document IDSHRS-PUB-STUEXP-2026-001
EditionEdition I
Related InstrumentThe Governance Charter of Sultan Hanafi Royal Schools (Policy GV-01 v3.0, Edition VII)
Institution FoundedJuly 2016 · Ikorodu, Lagos State, Nigeria
Publication Information02
A Note Before You Read On

Every prospectus can list facilities and fees. Fewer can tell you what a Tuesday morning actually feels like for a seven-year-old walking into assembly, or a sixteen-year-old closing their Mus'haf after verifying their twentieth Juz’.

This edition is written for that reason. Every fact in it is real — the same institution described in our other publications — but told here through the people who live it every day: students, teachers, and the parents who trust us with their children.

Editor's Note03
Contents

Inside This Story

A guide to the chapters ahead — each one a real part of the Sultan Hanafi student experience.

A Letter to Parents
05
A Day in the Life
06
The Weekly Rhythm
07
The Hifz Journey
08
Leadership & Character
10
Clubs, Games & Competitions
11
Academic Success Stories
12
Voices of Our Parents
13
Boarding Life
14
Milestones We Remember
15
One Family, Five Schools
16

“Most of us parents have confirmed that the values and morals the school instils in our children are worth far more than the fees we pay.”

Dr Ismail Akeem Seriki · Parent, Three Children Enrolled
Recitation assemblyChapter 07
Spelling competitionChapter 10
Technology workshopChapter 10
Contents04
A Letter to Parents

Why We Built This

Zakariya Olanrewaju AnofiSultan Zakaria, Founder

Since 2016, Sultan Hanafi Royal Schools has taken children from the Imowonla community and given them access to the kind of education that was previously available only to the most privileged families in Nigeria. That sentence is easy to write. Living it, one child at a time, is the actual work.

Every parent who entrusts us with a child is trusting us with something larger than a curriculum — a formation of character, faith, and confidence that will outlast every exam they ever sit. This edition is our attempt to show you, not just tell you, what that formation looks like.

“Together, let us embark on a journey where every child discovers not only what they know, but who they are called to become.”

Zakariya Olanrewaju Anofi · Founder & Head of Schools/Administrator

With an MSc from Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt, a BSc from Oxford Brookes, and fellowships with the ACCA UK and ICAN, our Founder brings the same rigour he learned in finance and governance to the question every parent ultimately asks: will this school actually change my child's life? The chapters that follow are our honest answer.

A Letter to Parents05
Basic school classroom
A Day in the Life

One Ordinary Tuesday

Morning begins the same way for every child on campus, whichever of the five schools they belong to — with the day's first prayer, before the first lesson of any kind. From there, the paths diverge, and that divergence is the point: no two children at Sultan Hanafi walk exactly the same route through the day.

1
The Nursery Child
Play-based learning woven with numeracy, literacy, and Islamic values — a morning built around curiosity, not worksheets.
2
The Basic School Pupil
National curriculum lessons enriched with entrepreneurship and digital fluency, alongside the ICT & Computer Laboratory.
3
The Royal College Student
A full academic timetable across seven departments, from Mathematics to Islamic Sciences, taught by PhD- and PGDE-qualified staff.
4
The Qur’an College Student
Hours of memorisation and Tajwid practice with a Muhaffiz, working steadily toward the next verified Juz’.
A Day in the Life06
The Weekly Rhythm

A Week Has Its Own Shape Too

Beyond the daily timetable, the week carries its own rhythm — anchored by Jumu’ah and the weekend Islamic and Arabic Studies programme.

1
Friday, Jumu’ah
The week's spiritual centre — congregational prayer that reorders everything around it, for students and staff alike.
2
Weekend Islamic and Arabic Studies
A dedicated weekend programme at School of Islamic and Arabic Studies, open to students beyond the Qur’an College's weekday track.
3
The Ramadan Season
The single busiest stretch of the school calendar — culminating in the annual Qur’an Competition at the Royal College Auditorium.

“And say: My Lord, increase me in knowledge.”

Surah Taha · 20:114

Whichever school a child belongs to, this weekly rhythm is the same shared clock every family on campus lives by — a small, steady reminder that faith and learning are never scheduled around each other here. They happen together.

The Weekly Rhythm07
The Hifz Journey

Carrying the Qur’an, One Juz’ at a Time

Qur'an recitationDaily recitation practice
Recitation assemblyWeekly recitation assembly

A full-immersion 24–36 month programme for students aged nine to sixteen — complete memorisation of the Noble Qur’an, mastery of Tajwid, and the Sciences of the Qur’an, culminating in a certified Ijazah. Each year, students take part in a Ramadan Qur’an Competition at the Royal College Auditorium, a tradition established in 2024 to mark the discipline this journey demands.

24–36
Months
30
Juz' to Memorise
2024
Ramadan Competition Since
Ijazah
Certified Outcome

“Whoever guides someone to goodness will have a reward like the one who did it.”

Hadith · Sahih Muslim
The Hifz Journey08
The Hifz Journey, Stage by Stage

Five Stages, One Destination

1
Enrolment & Assessment
A student's existing memorisation and Tajwid level is assessed before their personalised Hifz plan begins.
2
Foundational Memorisation
Building the first Juz', with daily Muhaffiz-supervised repetition and correction.
3
Sustained Progress
Steady accumulation of verified Juz', balanced against Murajaah — the continuous revision that prevents forgetting.
4
Completion & Review
All 30 Juz' memorised and formally reviewed against the school's Ijazah standard.
5
Ijazah
A certified, permanently recorded credential — verifiable years later, wherever that student's life takes them next.

“Allah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees.”

Surah Al-Mujadilah · 58:11

No two students move through these five stages at the same pace, and that is by design — the standard is complete, verified memorisation, not a fixed calendar. A student who needs an extra term on Murajaah gets it, without penalty, because forgetting a Juz’ later would cost far more than a slower fourth stage now.

The Hifz Journey, Stage by Stage09
Leadership & Character

Growing Into Leaders

Guided by the CLEVER framework, every student is mentored to lead — not someday, but starting now.

1
Student Representatives
The formal link between the student body and school management — real responsibility, not a ceremonial title.
2
School Prefects
Head Boy, Head Girl, Senior Prefects, and House Prefects — a structured leadership pathway across the Royal College.
3
Class Captains
The leadership tier closest to individual classes — the first point of peer accountability in daily school life.
4
Student Clubs
The broadest tier of the leadership pathway — voluntary, interest-led groups open to every pupil.

The CLEVER Framework

Creativity, Leadership, Engagement, Versatility, Ethics, Reliability — the shared language every teacher uses to describe growth that isn't captured on a report card.

The ALA Endowment Prize

Awarded to the top three academic performers in each class every term, established in 2024 by Mr Lukman Anofi, Board Member, in honour of academic distinction.

6
CLEVER Traits
3
Leadership Tiers
3
Prize Winners Per Term
2024
ALA Prize Established
Leadership & Character10
Clubs, Games & Competitions

Where Character Gets Tested — Playfully

Games and recreationGames & recreation period
Spelling competitionInter-class spelling competition

Academic rigour is only half the story. Spelling competitions, recreation periods, and hands-on technology workshops give students room to compete, build, and simply be children — the kind of ordinary joy that makes a school feel like a second home rather than an institution.

1
Spelling Competitions
Inter-class contests that turn vocabulary into a spectator sport.
2
Basic Technology Workshops
Hands-on building and problem-solving, part of the Basic School's practical curriculum.
Clubs, Games & Competitions11
Academic Success Stories

Milestones That Belong to Every Student

Not one exceptional child's story — the whole institution's, told through the marks it has already made.

2026
Ministry Registered
1st
BECE Cohort Sat
2025
Governor Commission
7
Academic Departments

By 2026, the Royal College had achieved Ministry Registration and seen its first cohort sit the Basic Education Certificate Examination — a milestone every student in that cohort now carries with them, regardless of individual results, as the class that proved the model works.

“Sultan Hanafi Royal Schools stands as a blueprint for how education can be a vehicle for transformative social change within marginalised communities.”

Punch Newspaper · November 2025
Scholarly visitA visiting scholar's address
Commissioning dayCommissioning Day, 2025
Academic Success Stories12
Voices of Our Parents

Told Best By Those Who Chose Us

No one describes the student experience more honestly than the parents who live its results at home.

“The calibre of teachers here is outstanding — skilled, certified, professional educators genuinely invested in each child's future.”

Mr Waliy Ojewumi · Engineer · Parent Since 2018

“One thing I look out for in schools is the calibre of teachers they have. Most private schools don't employ quality teachers — but at SULTAN, in most of their recruitments they look for experienced educators with PhD, M.Sc., PGDE, or B.Sc. Education qualifications.”

Mr Waliy Ojewumi · Engineer · Parent Since 2018

“Since joining SULTAN, the improvement in my children's academic performance and character has been remarkable.”

Dr Ismail Akeem Seriki · Parent, Three Children Enrolled
Basic school classroomA classroom, mid-lesson
Chemistry laboratoryChemistry Laboratory practical
Voices of Our Parents13
Boarding dining hall
Boarding Life

A Second Home

For Royal College and Qur’an College students who board, campus life extends well past the final lesson bell. Shared meals, structured evening study, and the five daily prayers give boarding students a rhythm of their own — one that allows families beyond Ikorodu to entrust their children to Sultan Hanafi with confidence.

2
Boarding Schools
5
Daily Prayers
Shared
Meals & Study
1
Community
Boarding Life14
Milestones We Remember

The Moments That Mark a Journey

Commissioning dayCommissioning Day, 2025
Scholarly visitA visiting scholar's address

In 2025, Sultan Hanafi Royal Schools was commissioned by Engr. Seyi Makinde, Executive Governor of Oyo State — a day students still describe when asked what it feels like to belong to this school. Visiting scholars, Ramadan competitions, and graduation days mark the calendar with the same seriousness as any exam.

“What we see here today is not merely a school building. What we see is a statement of faith — faith in education, faith in our children, and faith in what Nigeria can become.”

Engr. Seyi Makinde · Executive Governor, Oyo State
Milestones We Remember15
One Family, Five Schools

Every Child's Whole Story

Nursery, Primary, Royal College, Qur’an College, and School of Islamic and Arabic Studies — plus the newly established Online & Distance Learning School — five schools, one continuous experience.

Basic School

From age two, the foundation of faith and academic discipline is laid before a child ever sits a formal exam.

Royal College

Seven academic departments, JSS 1–3 and SSS 1–3, for students aged ten and above.

Qur’an College

A parallel track for full Hifz immersion, open to students aged nine to sixteen.

School of Islamic and Arabic Studies

Weekday and weekend programmes running alongside every other stage of the journey.

Online & Distance Learning School

Newly established in 2026 — headship not yet appointed, with no students or curriculum yet.

Join Their Story

Begin at Sultan Hanafi

We welcome families of every faith and background who share our commitment to academic excellence and Islamic values.

1
Initial Enquiry
Contact the school in person, by telephone, or via our website.
2
Entrance Assessment & Enrolment
An examination and interview enable optimal class placement, followed by a formal Admission Letter.

15, Imowonla Road, Off Gberigbe–Agura Road, Ikorodu, Lagos State · [email protected] · +234 (0) 807 374 7650

One Family, Five Schools16
Crest

Sultan Hanafi Royal Schools

The Student Experience Edition

15, Imowonla Road, Ikorodu, Lagos State
[email protected] · +234 (0) 807 374 7650

shroyalschools.com · @shroyal_schools

Student Experience Edition 202617