Nairobi, Kenya
International schools in Nairobi: what families need to know
Nairobi has one of Africa's deepest international school markets, built around the UN and NGO presence, with British, IB, American, German and French schools within a short radius of the western suburbs. Two calendars run in parallel — British-style September starts and Kenyan January starts — and choosing between them shapes your whole move. This guide covers admissions, curricula, the school year, fees, suburbs and how places actually work here.
US$499 per family · One-time fee · You review the service and the price before you pay.
What you tell us
- Where you are moving
- Nairobi
- Children
- Sofia (age 8) · Luca (age 5)
- Curriculum
- British preferred
- Start
- August
You tell us once, for every child. Your adviser assesses the brief and contacts relevant admissions teams on your behalf.
Example only. School names in these examples are fictional.
Nairobi in short
- Curricula available in Nairobi: British, IB, American, French, German and the Kenyan CBC.
- The Nairobi school year runs Late August or September to June at British-system schools; January to November in the Kenyan system, with the main intake at the start of it.
- Schools are overseen by Ministry of Education and the Kenya National Examinations Council for national qualifications.
- Tuition is published per year group by each school. Registration, deposit, transport, uniform, meals and examination entries are normally billed separately.
- Availability is decided per child, per year group and per campus, so two children in one family can get two different answers from the same Nairobi school.
- You tell us what your family needs once, and see matched Nairobi schools with places, fees and next steps.
Prepared by InternationalSchools.orgPublished September 2026Last reviewed September 2026
Nairobi at a glance
The facts that shape a Nairobi school search
- Oversight
- Ministry of Education and the Kenya National Examinations Council for national qualifications
- Main curricula
- British, IB, American, French, German and the Kenyan CBC
- School year
- Late August or September to June at British-system schools; January to November in the Kenyan system
- Ages served
- Nursery through Year 13 or Grade 12
- Language
- English, with Kiswahili taught widely
How admissions work in Nairobi
Most Nairobi schools follow the same stages, whatever the curriculum.
- 1
Enquire and check the year group
Confirm the year group each child would enter in Nairobi. Age cut-offs differ between systems, so the same child can be placed a year apart in two schools.
- 2
Assessment
Most schools assess before offering a place. This can be a short online task, a classroom visit or a subject test, depending on age.
- 3
Offer, deposit and registration
An offer is usually held only after a registration fee or deposit is paid. Check whether either is refundable before you accept.
Documents to prepare
Some documents can take time to arrange from abroad. Start collecting them before you have chosen a school.
- Passport and, where required, visa or residence documents for each child
- Birth certificate
- School reports for the last two years
- Transfer or leaving certificate from the previous school
- Vaccination and health records
- Any learning support or assessment reports, shared early rather than late
More detail: how international-school admissions work.
Curricula families meet in Nairobi
We explain each system once, in the curricula library, rather than repeating it city by city.
British curriculum
IGCSE and A Level, and how English year groups are set by age.
International Baccalaureate
PYP, MYP and the Diploma, and who the IB suits on a later move.
American curriculum
US grades, high-school credits and AP, with their own placement rules.
Changing curriculum mid-move
What transfers cleanly between systems and where a child may repeat or skip a year.
The Nairobi school year and when to apply
Timing decides how much choice you have. These are the stages most families move through.
Six to nine months ahead
Start looking for the main intake
Popular year groups in Nairobi fill first, and assessment slots become scarce close to the intake.
Three to six months ahead
Assessments and offers
Schools assess, then make offers within days or weeks. Registration fees and deposits usually follow immediately.
One to three months ahead
Places confirmed, waiting lists move
Waiting lists move as leaving families release places, so keep asking rather than assuming a school is closed.
Start of the school year
Term begins
The Nairobi school year runs late August or September to June at British-system schools; January to November in the Kenyan system.
Mid-year
In-year entry
Possible, but limited to whichever year groups have room. This is where asking schools directly saves the most time.
What school costs in Nairobi
Published tuition is the starting figure, not the total. These are the charges to budget for.
What the Nairobi market costs, in round numbers
High band- Primary, per year
- KES 1,200,000 – 2,500,000
- Secondary, per year
- KES 1,800,000 – 3,500,000
- Roughly, in US dollars
- US$9,000 – 27,000
Indicative annual tuition across mainstream international schools, for the stated academic year. Individual schools publish their own fees per year group, the top of each market runs above these ranges, and registration, deposits, transport, uniform, meals and examination entries are billed separately. Figures refer to the 2025/26 academic year. Compare fees across cities.
- Tuition
- Published per year group by each school
- Registration fee
- Charged at application or offer stage, usually non-refundable
- Deposit
- Secures the place and is often deducted from the first term's tuition
- Transport
- School transport is charged separately and varies by distance and route
- Uniform, books, devices
- One-off costs at the start of the year, higher in the first year
- Meals and activities
- Optional at most schools, but a real part of the annual budget
- Examination entries
- IGCSE, A Level, IB and AP entries are billed in the exam years
See also understanding international school fees.
Places and waiting lists
Which Nairobi schools have places for your children?
A place is not something a school has in general. It exists for one year group, at one campus, for one intake. Two children in the same family can get two different answers from the same school on the same day.
School websites cannot tell you this. Availability changes when a family leaves, when a contract ends, or when a new year group opens. That is why relevant schools answer directly instead of publishing a number that would be out of date by the time you read it.
For each child, a Nairobi school can answer that a place is available, that there is a waiting list, that the intake is full, or that it cannot confirm yet. You see the answer, the fees and the next step, and you decide where to focus.
US$499 per family · One-time fee · You review the service and the price before you pay.
Your schools · 2 children · British curriculum · Starting August
Westbrook International School
From the school
North campus · British · Annual fees: Confirmed for your intake
Fees confirmed for the academic year you asked about
- Sofia · Year 4Place availablePlace available for August
- Luca · Year 1Place availablePlace available for August
Next step: Assessment, then offer
Harbour Ridge Academy
From the school
City campus · British · Annual fees: Confirmed for your intake
Fees confirmed for the academic year you asked about
- Sofia · Year 4Place availablePlace available for August
- Luca · Year 1Waiting listWaiting list, reviewed monthly
Next step: Campus visit, then assessment
Elmfield International College
From our team
Main campus · British · Annual fees: Earlier-year reference fee
Fees for your intake not yet confirmed
- Sofia · Year 4Not confirmedPlaces not yet confirmed
- Luca · Year 1Not confirmedPlaces not yet confirmed
Next step: We ask admissions to confirm
Every option says who provided the information and whether places are confirmed. Your adviser explains what each answer means for your children.
Example school options. School names in these examples are fictional.
Choosing where to live in Nairobi
We do not rank areas. These are the questions that decide whether a school works day to day.
Westlands, Parklands and Spring Valley
Central-west, convenient for offices and several campuses, with apartments and townhouses.
Karen and Langata
Large gardens, horses and forest edges to the south-west, home to several long-established schools and much of the expatriate community.
Gigiri, Runda and Muthaiga
The UN and diplomatic quarter to the north, secure compounds, and schools within a short drive.
Lavington and Kileleshwa
Leafy, central and well supplied with schools, with the shortest commutes into the city.
Moving to Nairobi with children: a checklist
The school-related steps that decide how smooth the first term is.
- Confirm each child's year group under the curriculum you are moving to in Nairobi.
- Collect and, where required, attest school reports and certificates before you leave.
- Ask schools about places for every child in the same request, not one at a time.
- Check whether registration fees and deposits are refundable if your move date changes.
- Check the visa or residency steps that enrolment can depend on.
- Ask about learning support early, since capacity is decided case by case.
- Line up housing only after you know which school can take all of your children.
See also the moving-abroad timeline.
Moving with more than one child
One school that works for every child, not one child
Most families moving to Nairobi are moving with more than one child, and the hardest part is rarely finding a good school. It is finding one school that can take all of your children in the same year.
Checking each child separately, school by school, is where the search becomes slow. A school that has room in Year 1 may be full in Year 4, and you only learn that after two emails and a wait.
One request covers every child. Each school answers for each child, so you can see immediately where all of your children could start together, and where you would be splitting the family across two schools.
- Ask once for the whole family, not once per child.
- See sibling answers side by side before you contact anyone.
- Ask about sibling priority and start dates while places are still open.
Your schools, side by side
Westbrook International School
- Information
- From the school
- Curriculum
- British
- Area
- North campus
- Annual fees
- Confirmed for your intake
- Next step
- Assessment, then offer
Harbour Ridge Academy
- Information
- From the school
- Curriculum
- British
- Area
- City campus
- Annual fees
- Confirmed for your intake
- Next step
- Campus visit, then assessment
Elmfield International College
- Information
- From our team
- Curriculum
- British
- Area
- Main campus
- Annual fees
- Earlier-year reference fee
- Next step
- We ask admissions to confirm
Westbrook International School
Harbour Ridge Academy
Elmfield International College
Sofia · Year 4
Luca · Year 1
Information
From the school
From the school
From our team
Curriculum
British
British
British
Area
North campus
City campus
Main campus
Annual fees
Confirmed for your intake
Confirmed for your intake
Earlier-year reference fee
Next step
Assessment, then offer
Campus visit, then assessment
We ask admissions to confirm
Example comparison. School names in these examples are fictional.
How schooling works in Nairobi
The Ministry of Education registers private schools, including those teaching foreign curricula. Kenya's national system is moving through a competency-based curriculum reform, while international schools continue to run British, IB, American or European programmes with their own calendars and examinations.
Two calendars, and it matters
British-system and IB schools generally start in late August or September and finish in June or July. Kenyan-curriculum schools run January to November.
If you arrive in January, a Kenyan-calendar school can take your children immediately while a British-calendar school places them mid-year. Confirm the calendar before shortlisting.
Traffic decides where you live
Nairobi's congestion is severe and unpredictable, particularly in the rainy seasons around March to May and October to December.
Families almost always advise living in the same quadrant as the school. Ask for the bus route, the pick-up time and the wet-season journey time from your specific address.
Fees, terms and what sits outside tuition
Tuition is published in Kenyan shillings per term, with three terms a year; a few schools quote in US dollars or sterling.
Registration, an admission or capital fee, and a refundable deposit are common on top. Transport is charged by zone and is a significant line given the distances.
Ask about the annual increase over the last three years, and whether examination entries for IGCSE, A level or IB are billed separately.
Admissions, assessment and waiting lists
Schools review previous reports and run assessments in English and mathematics; popular year groups can carry waiting lists, especially at the best-known campuses.
Apply to more than one school and ask each for the current position by year group. Places open regularly as contracts end and families rotate out.
Practical setup: security, health and documents
Compound housing with managed security is the norm for international families, and schools have their own procedures. Ask what they are — it is a routine question here.
Prepare passports and work-permit or dependant-pass documents, previous school reports, birth certificates and full immunisation records, including yellow fever where required.
What families get wrong in Nairobi
The local details that cost families a term, a deposit or a long daily drive.
Ignoring the calendar difference
September-start and January-start schools coexist. It decides whether your children start on arrival.
Living in the wrong quadrant
Nairobi traffic makes cross-city school runs long, especially in the rains. Match your suburb to the campus.
Budgeting tuition only
Registration, admission or capital fees, deposits, zoned transport and examination entries are separate.
Applying to a single school
Waiting lists are common in popular year groups. Apply to several and ask about movement.
Arriving without permit paperwork
Dependant passes and work permits are needed for enrolment and school documentation. Start early.
Official Nairobi resources
Primary sources for regulation, inspection and enrolment. We link out rather than paraphrase.
How InternationalSchools.org works in Nairobi
Tell us what your family needs once, and see matched schools in Nairobi with places, fees and next steps.
- 1
Tell us about your family and Nairobi
Your children's ages and year groups, the curriculum you prefer, your budget and when you want to start. One brief covers every child named in it.
- 2
Your adviser researches Nairobi
A 30-minute consultation, then research of the schools in Nairobi that suit each child, and contact with relevant admissions teams about your start date.
- 3
Receive your recommendations
Three recommended schools plus up to two alternatives where suitable, with written reasoning for each child, a review call and follow-up questions answered for 30 days.
We do not publish scores or predict availability. How we select schools.
Questions families ask about Nairobi
Find international schools in Nairobi for your children
One conversation, every child, answers from the schools themselves.
US$499 per family · One-time fee · You review the service and the price before you pay.
Go deeper on Nairobi
How fees compare across cities
What is published, what is billed separately and how Nairobi compares with the other markets we cover.
Compare the main curricula
British, IB and American side by side, and what a later move between countries changes.
How admissions work
The stages most international schools use, and where relocating families lose time.
Continue reading
Waiting lists and availability
How waiting lists really work, and what to ask before you join one.
School year and intake timing
When places open, and what a mid-year move changes.
How it works
From telling us what you need to answers from the schools themselves.
Other destinations
You can search any destination, published guide or not.
Last reviewed: September 2026
Guide version 3.1. Nairobi information is compiled from official regulators, curriculum authorities and school-published material. Fees, intakes and requirements are set by individual schools and change, so confirm details directly with a school before you rely on them.
Sources
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