Olawepo Gertrude Tunmise, a 16-year-old girl, emerged as the top scorer of her school in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), after scoring 373.
Gertrude opened up on the study apps she used to prepare for the exam and her dream course at the University of Lagos.
Gertrude’s mum, Adenike Olawepo, also shared with how she felt when she saw her daughter’s impressive UTME result.
There has been no UTME top scorer with a total score of 373 since 2013, until 16-year-old Olawepo Gertrude Tunmise took the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination in 2025.
Gertrude emerged as the 2025 UTME top scorer of her school, Hillcity Schools, in Ilorin, Kwara state, after she scored 79 in English, 98 in Chemistry, 98 in Physics, and 98 in Mathematics.
In an exclusive interview with, Gertrude bared it all, shedding light on her study strategy, and how she emerged as her school’s top scorer.
Gertrude shares her 2025 UTME preparation strategy
When Gertrude, who hails from Kwara State, was asked about her preparation strategy, which led to her exceptional score.
The SS3 student said:
“Since I resumed in SS2, my school started preparing us for our exams because we had WAEC GCE coming up. So since then, I started preparing for all my exams. I believe one of my study secrets is time management. I study for an average of 5-6 hours, and I take breaks in between to cool my nerves before I continue reading again. I also used a lot of resources such as textbooks, test driller app, my school JAMB CBT practice, 3thirty JAMB app, and JAMB remix. I also watched YouTube videos on topics I didn’t understand for better understanding.”
Gertrude also stated that her school and family, and friends motivated her during her preparation.
The 16-year-old who is currently writing her West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) shared how she planned for both exams.
She said:
“I drafted a timetable for myself to study and I also ensured that as I was studying for my JAMB, I studied for WAEC simultaneously.”
Gertude shares her dream course in UNILAG
The teenager, whose mum is a businesswoman and dad is a construction engineer, shared the course she chose to study at the University of Lagos and her reasons.
She said:
“I chose the University of Lagos to study Computer Science. I chose Computer Science because I’ve always been fascinated by how the computer, phones and gadgets generally works, and I have always wanted to know more.
“I even enrolled in coding class at my school to learn web design, and it was so interesting, and I believe that with the right training, I myself will be able to develop software, useful gadgets, apps and even become an innovator and inventor. I chose Unilag because, through my research, it has the best computer science program with a separate faculty for it.”
Hinting at plans for post-UTME, Gertrude said:
“Once I’m done with my NECO exams, that will be my next focus, I plan to get the post UTME past questions and practice and improve my understanding of the topics I’ve learnt and learn those I don’t know.”
Gertrude’s mother speaks on her UTME score
Gertrude’s mother, Adenike Olawepo, who shared how she and her husband, Babatunde, felt after seeing their daughter’s result. She said:
“We were very elated when she got 358 in her mock JAMB. I told her to aim for 400 even her school (Hill City schools) did not relent in pushing their students for more, so it was a welcome surprise. We give God all the glory.”
Sharing how they helped their daughter with preparations, Adenike said:
“We made internet available for her online app practice and research on her subject combination for jamb, infact she went an extra mile in solving past questions from several years back. We made sure she has a laptop and other necessary materials to practice with. And finally, we encouraged her through prayers and motivation.”
