About Us

Our Founder

Palmville Schools was established by the Late Olori Chief Mrs. Caroline Ayodele Bello Bankole (Iya Ewe of Lagos). See School Historical Timeline as follows:
- The 1970’s: Olori Chief (Mrs.) Caroline Ayodele Bello Bankole attended Nottingham University in London United Kingdom where she received her Professional Certificate in Education. She went on to St. Nicholas College of Education in England and specialized in Montessori Method of Teaching. During this time, the Montessori methodology was not yet a standard teaching method and Olori was one of the first batch of Nigerian students that attended St. Nicholas College to study Montessori teaching methods. She returned to Nigeria and founded Agalaji “egba omo wewe” Day Nursery and Boarding School at Iga Onisemo, Idumota Lagos. Her passion for education was not only in the classroom setting but she also believed that education should be accessible to all socio-economic classes in Nigeria.
- The 1980’s: Agalaji Boarding school was established in Pedro Gbagada, Lagos and was managed by her brother, the late Mr. Femi Awodipe. The primary objective of the boarding school was to provide a focused and safe learning environment. The first set of students that attended the boarding school in Pedro were graduates from the Nursery school from Agalaji Day Nursery School in which their parents entrusted their continued education to Olori.
- 1985: Following the death and tenure of her late husband (Chief Tawaliu Adisa Bello, The Onisemo of Lagos) Olori Chief (Mrs.) Caroline Ayodele Bello Bankole’s passion for education did not end there. However, she continued her pursuit of her lifelong dream to have a well-established educational facility and acquired 2 acres of land at Gowon Estate Ipaja.
- 1989: Palmville Nursery and Primary Children School was established in Gowon Estate, Ipaja Lagos.
- 1999: Following the success of Palmville Nursery and Primary Children School over the years Palmville College was subsequently established in 1999.
Olori Chief (Mrs.) Caroline Ayodele Bello Bankole strongly believed that the foundational education is instrumental in the formative years to establish lifelong learning. Her passion for education to change lives of children in Isale-Eko by providing access to superlative education was noticed by the then Oba of Lagos “Late Oba Oyekan”, and in 1984 she was honored with the Title Chieftaincy as “Iya-Ewe of Lagos” (Mother of Children). In later years, she was also awarded the title of Yeyeoba of Irolu Remo and Iya Ewe of Oke-Agbe.
Olori Chief (Mrs.) Caroline Ayodele Bello Bankole continued to be fully engaged in the school matters till her later years up till her eighties. Following her death, remarks from her teaching staff included how she continued to teach them life lessons outside of the classroom.