Sheila Mary Solarin (''née'' Tuer, 1924–21 October 2012) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

educator. She was awarded an MBE by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

on 17 October 2007 for her educational services in

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. She ran the Mayflower School on behalf of her late husband, Tai Solarin.

Early life

Sheila met Tai Solarin while both were in the military forces following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. They were married in 1951.

Career

In 1952, Tai and Sheila decided to move to his native Nigeria, where both worked in

Ijebu Igbo Ijebu Igbo ( Yoruba: Ìjẹ̀bú-Igbó) is a town in Ogun State, Nigeria. It is the headquarters of Ijebu North Local Government Authority of Ogun State, Nigeria. It is approximately a 15-minute drive north of Ijebu Ode. History The term ...

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. It is bordered to the south by Lagos State and the Bight of Benin, to the east by Ondo State, and to the north by Oyo and Osun states while its western border forms part of the national borde ...

at Molusi College. However, they disagreed with the politics of the organization and religious discrimination in schools, and decided to build their own school in

Ikenne Ikenne is a Local Government Area in Ogun State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Ikenne at . It has an area of 144 km and a population of 118,735 at the 2006 census. The postal code of the area is 121. Wards in Ikenne # Ike ...

. They left the College in 1956 to pursue their idea. On 27 January 1956 Tai Solarin and his wife founded the Mayflower School, the first

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

school in Nigeria, in Ikenne. The Students' Second Home was established by the pair in 1977. It was a

boarding house A boarding house is a house (frequently a family home) in which lodging, lodgers renting, rent one or more rooms on a nightly basis and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months, or years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and ...

that served more than two thousand students of the three public high schools in Ikenne town. Also complementing the now state-owned Mayflower School was the privately-owned Mayflower Junior School, the main school of the Mayflower institution. Using breeze blocks made from clay, they constructed two classrooms, each able to accommodate 36 pupils. The students helped in the construction of more classrooms. "They had their bunks at the back of the class, and the desks at the front" said Sheila. "We didn't ask anybody what their ethnic background or religion was, we simply wanted to provide an education for all the children in the area." As the Mayflower School became more popular, Sheila and her husband expanded, making it one of the largest schools in the country. Sheila headed the Mayflower School on behalf of her late husband Tai Solarin. Sheila retired at the age of 80, passing much of the responsibility for the school to her children.

Personal life

Sheila and her husband had two children, Corin and Tunde Solarin. She died on 21 October 2012, at the age of 88.

References

1924 births 2012 deaths British emigrants to Nigeria Members of the Order of the British Empire Nigerian women educators British women in World War II Founders of Nigerian schools and colleges {{UK-academic-bio-stub