10 Best Public Secondary Schools in Kenya 2023

Examinations in Kenya are a matter of life and death. Every primary school pupil

wishes to join a prestigious high school. Kenya has over 9,000 public secondary schools.

This article will narrow down to the 10 best schools that guarantee your child good

grades for university. The list is based on academic performance over the years.

Alliance Boys High School

An Alliance of Protestant Churches established Alliance Boys in 1926. It prides itself as

the first high school to offer education to Africans. The school is located in Kiambu

County in Kikuyu town. It is an academic giant that has topped Form Four

Examinations on many occasions. In the 2019 national exams, Alliance registered a

mean score of 10.019. Apart from academics, students at the institution enjoy various

co-curricular activities such as football, hockey, basketball, volleyball and tennis.

Notable alumni of the school include former Chief Justice Johnson Gicheru, Prof James

Ole Kiyapi, Kenneth Matiba and the late politician George Anyone.

Mangu High School

The Kiambu County-based institution was established in 1925. Initially, it was

considered a Kenyan Roman Catholic High School but later opened its doors to

students from other denominations. The school's good academic record has stood the

test of time. In 2020 Mangu High emerged third in national examinations with a mean

score of 10.279. In 2013, the school produced the top student in national exams. The late
former president Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki is an alumnus of the school. Others

include Cardinal and Archbishop emeritus Maurice Michael Otunga and Roman

Catholic archbishop of Mombasa Diocese John Njenga.

Alliance Girls High School

It is the dream of any young Kenyan girl to join Alliance Girls. The school is located in

Kiambu County in Kikuyu town. The giant girl's boarding school was established in

1948 by the Alliance of Protestant Churches and was the first secondary school in Kenya

to admit girls. Alliance girls is an academic giant that has remained at the top for

several decades. Some of the notable alumni of the institution include the late first lady

Lucy Kibaki, Dr Sally Kosgei, Nyiva Mwendwa and Dr Betty Gikonyo.

Starehe Boys Centre

The boys-only school may have gone silent in national exams, but its reputation over

the years ensures it remains at position three. The school was established in 1959 by Dr

Geoffrey Griffins and two others to offer education to bright needy students across the

country. The Nairobi County-based school has produced some respectable individuals

in Kenyan society, including businessman Peter Ndegwa, Politician Peter Kenneth, Prof

George Magoha, and politician and educationist Prof Anyang Nyong, among others. At

Starehe, students are trained in leadership, democracy and internationalism and enjoy

various co-curricular activities. The school performs well in Form Four Examinations.
Kenya High School

Kenya High is one of the prestigious girl's schools in the country. It is located in the

leafy suburbs of Kileleshwa in Nairobi County. Established in 1908 as Kenya European

Girls, the school changed its name to Kenya High School in 1939. The school is an

academic giant and has produced university materials over the years. For example, in

2020, Kenya High had a mean score of 10.46 in national exams. Out of 315 candidates

who sat for examinations that year, 76 scored straight As. Some of the alumni of the

school include former broadcaster and lawyer Esther Arunga, economist June Arunga,

and Phillipa Namutebi, among others.

Moi Girls High School –Eldoret

Located in Uasin Gishu County in the Great Rift Valley, the prestigious girl's school was

established by missionaries in 1928 as Highland School. The girl's boarding school

changed its name to Moi Girls High School in 1978. Moi Girls offers the 8-4-4 education

curriculum and admits both Muslims and Christians. The has produced women of steel

such as Ida Odinga, wife to experienced opposition leader Raila Amollo Odinga,

Former Deputy Chief Justice Nancy Baraza, Phylis Kandie and Esther Murugi, amongst

others. The school has maintained top performance in the Kenya Certificate of

Secondary School Examinations over the years.

Maranda High School

Located in Siaya County Bondo Town, Maranda High School is a notable name in the

Kenya Certificate of Secondary School Examinations. In 2021 it recorded a mean score

of 9.1465 despite having 621 candidates. Surprisingly 560 candidates managed

university grades during that year. The boy's boarding school was established in 1926

by missionaries and has produced notable figures in the country, including the five-

time presidential candidate Raila Amollo Odinga, his brother and current Siaya Senator

of Siaya County Oburu Odinga, Orwa Ojode, among others.

Loreto High School Limuru

The school is located in Kiambu County in the cold Sub-County of Limuru. Loreto was

established in 1936 by Loreto Sisters. The sisters from Ireland established the school to

give African girls denied the right to education an opportunity. Over the years, the

school established itself as one of the country's academic giants. Some alumni of Loreto

include 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Prof Wangari Maathai and Lawyer Martha

Mbugua among others.

Precious Blood Secondary School Riruta

The school was established in 1964 by the precious blood sisters. The idea was to

educate children residing in Kawangware and its environs, most of whom had been

affected by the Mau Mau uprising. Over the years, the school has performed well in

national exams. In 2008, the school emerged top of Form Four Examinations.