International schools in Kenya

Search for the best international schools in Kenya; you can find a list of selected schools at the bottom of this page. Use the search filters to select only girls' or boys' schools, prep schools, senior schools or sixth forms; or you can search for schools that offer a particular curriculum, such as the International Baccalaureate, the UK national curriculum, a US-style model or the International Primary Curriculum.

Kenya has a well-established private, international sector serving both expatriates and local elites, with schools clustered around Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru and Kisumu. The vast majority teach in English and offer a British curriculum but International Baccalaureate programmes are increasingly popular. 

Many private schools offer boarding education and some have religious foundations, while French, German, Japanese and Swedish schools can be found in Nairobi, which has a large expat community. There are six IB World Schools in Kenya, which all teach in English, while five are authorised to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma.  

Three IB programmes are taught by the prestigious Aga Khan Academy schools in Nairobi and Mombasa, while Braeburn Garden Estate School, which is part of the home-grown Braeburn education group, offers the IB Diploma alongside A-levels.

The group runs seven schools in Kenya, of which four are based in and around Nairobi, with the others in Mombasa, Kisumu and Nanyuki. The schools follow the English national curriculum leading to A-levels and IGCSEs and two of them offer weekly boarding.

Hillcrest International Schools run a kindergarten, a preparatory school and a secondary school in Nairobi that provide a British-style education leading to IGCSEs and A-levels. Boarding is offered at secondary level.

Nairobi’s through-train, coeducational, day and boarding school Brookhouse Karen, which offers the English national curriculum leading to IGCSEs and A-levels, opened a day school for children aged one to 13 called Brookhouse Runda in September 2017.

Dubai-based GEMS Education group also provides coeducational day and boarding education in Kenya. GEMS Cambridge International School – Nairobi, which is designed for children aged two to 18, follows the English national curriculum leading to IGCSEs.

Education is compulsory for 12 years from age six to 17 and free in state schools. Children normally attend one year of nursery school before starting primary school, which is divided into lower and upper levels, each lasting four years. In the final year, pupils take the primary school leaving exam, which is used to allocate places at selective secondary schools. 

State secondary schools are divided into national, provincial and district levels,with national schools taking pupils with the highest scores. After four years’ of secondary education, students take the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education. Matriculation is based on students’ eight best scores. Kenya has 48 universities, of which 22 are private.  

In 2012, net enrolment was 85 per cent in primary schools and 57 per cent in secondary schools, while gross tertiary enrolment was four per cent in 2009. The school year runs from January to November. Parents are advised to check schools’ accreditation arrangements. 

If you are looking specifically for IB World Schools in Kenya, you can find selected schools on our sister website: www.ibyb.org.