Lenana School is a secondary school in
Nairobi, Kenya
Nairobi ( ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows throug ...
. It was formed in 1949 by colonial governor
Philip Euen Mitchell, known then as the Duke of York School, named after a British World War II
1939 King George V-class battleship. The bell from
HMS ''Duke of York'' is mounted on a bell-shed by the front of the school parade ground between the school chapel and the hall. The first students were briefly housed at the then-
British colonial
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
governor's house, which is the current
State House as they waited for the school's completion. The founding principal was R. H. James.
The school was renamed Lenana School in 1969 after the central person in the conflict between British imperialists and the
Maasai Maasai may refer to:
* Maasai people
*Maasai language
* Maasai mythology
* MAASAI (band)
See also
* Masai (disambiguation)
* Massai
Massai (also known as: Masai, Massey, Massi, Mah–sii, Massa, Wasse, Wassil or by the nickname "Big Foot" Mas ...
, the latter's spiritual leader Laibon Lenana. The first Kenyan principal of the school was James Kamunge. The referral to old students of the school changed from the phrase ''Old Yorkist'' to ''Laibons'', the latter being a title given to religious figures of the Maasai. A picture of Lenana painted by a student artist called Sam Madoka hangs next to the steps that lead to the 2nd floor of the administration block.
In 2006, Lenana School was ranked the 26th-best high school in Kenya based on the
Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education
The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) is an academic qualification taken at the completion of secondary education in Kenya.
The first KCSE exam was held in 1989 at the same time as the last Kenya Advanced Certificate of Education (K ...
's results. Through the 1980s and into the 21st century, Lenana School has maintained high academic standards ranking in the top 10 and top 20 respectively for many years in the 1980s. The current principal is William Kemei.
School emblem
The school emblem is the
White Rose of York
The White Rose of York (Latinised as ''rosa alba'', blazoned as ''a rose argent'') is a white heraldic rose which was adopted in the 14th century as a heraldic badge of the royal House of York. In modern times it is used more broadly as a sy ...
(also called the ''Rose alba'' or rose argent).
Academics
![LSBM-SchoolBlazer+SilverLining2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/LSBM-SchoolBlazer%2BSilverLining2.png)
Lenana School is categorised as a national school, which accepts students who do well in the
Kenya Certificate of Primary Education
The Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) is a certificate awarded to students after completing the approved eight-year course in primary education in Kenya. The examination is supervised by the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC), a ...
examination nationwide. The school routinely has a good showing in the
Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education
The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) is an academic qualification taken at the completion of secondary education in Kenya.
The first KCSE exam was held in 1989 at the same time as the last Kenya Advanced Certificate of Education (K ...
nationwide and is consistently ranked highly in its category of schools with large enrolment.
Cadet training era
Lenana School had a
Combined Cadet Force
The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a youth organisation in the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which operates in schools, and normally includes Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force sections. Its aim is to "provide a ...
training course of para-military standards. The course was started in the colonial era when the
Mau Mau Uprising
The Mau Mau rebellion (1952–1960), also known as the Mau Mau uprising, Mau Mau revolt or Kenya Emergency, was a war in the British Kenya Colony (1920–1963) between the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA), also known as the ''Mau Mau'', an ...
was at its peak to provide basic training for conscription in the all-white
Kenya Regiment
The Kenya Regiment was a unit of the British Army that recruited primarily from White Kenyans and some Ugandans with Black Kenyan recruits increasingly employed most notably, during the Mau Mau conflict. Formed in 1937, it was disbanded at the o ...
, and was mandatory for all students over 14 years of age. After the colonial era, Lenana continued the course until it was stopped by the government after the unsuccessful 1982 coup d'état. The cadet section had uniforms, guns,
ammunition
Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...
, an
armoury
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are most ...
, a
parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...
ground with adjacent stores and offices, an obstacle course, and a
shooting range
A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, sports venue, venue or playing field, field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice or shooting sport, competitions. So ...
. When the cadet training course was shut down the government collected all the guns and ammunition from the armoury but left the cadet uniforms behind. Until the late 1980s, teachers would hold an annual supervised shooting competition. Most of the competitions took place during the school's Founders Day holiday on 28 January.
Sports
Lenana School's rugby team has been a major part of the school since 1949. Back then the sport (and the school) was reserved for the elite (predominantly white). Since then Lenana has been one of four elite rugby schools,
and won many accolades, trophies, and tournaments. They were the only high school team to win a championship at club level. The school is always represented in the Kenyan high schools premier rugby league – the Prescott Cup, Damu Pevu Shield, the National Rugby championship, the Blackrock Rugby Festival and all other tournaments open to high school rugby. The school also hosts the John Andrews Memorial 7-a-side Rugby Tournament, in honour of a former student. Many former students have gone on to represent the country on the national team in international tournaments as well as play professionally abroad.
The team is known as the Mean Maroon, and adorns the maroon jersey emblazoned with a white rose for home meets.
Colour awards
![Lenana School Sports Colour Awards](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Lenana_School_Sports_Colour_Awards.png)
The school had an awards scheme where students were awarded school or house colours depending on the sport they excelled in. The colours consisted of a piece of maroon cloth approximately three inches in length, three-quarters on an inch in width, and two-eighths of an inch thick. Its border and wording in the middle was embroidered with silver or white thread. There were two categories which are full and half colours. If a student acquired three full colours he was awarded a silver lining which was a thick silver or white thread that was sown all around the edge of his blazer.
School sanatorium
![LenanaSchoolSanatorium](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/LenanaSchoolSanatorium.jpg)
Lenana School has a Level 2 classified sanatorium on its premises. It is equipped with a clinic and wards for in-patient treatment, and also provides medical counselling services. In 2019, the
Kenyan Ministry of Health (MoH) designated the Lenana School sanatorium as a MoH Level Two Health Clinic, which helped it obtain
National Hospital Insurance Fund-funded services.
Notable alumni
*
Wafula Chebukati
*
John Dunt
Vice Admiral Sir John Hugh Dunt (born 14 August 1944) is a former Royal Navy officer who ended his naval career as Chief of Fleet Support.
Naval career
Educated at Duke of York School in Nairobi, Dunt joined the Royal Navy as a cadet at the ...
, former Royal Navy officer
*
Sakaja Johnson, Kenyan
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
for Nairobi
*
Geoffrey Kent, founder, chairman, and CEO of Abercrombie & Kent
*
Professor Kithure Kindiki
*
*
Richard Leakey
Richard Erskine Frere Leakey (19 December 1944 – 2 January 2022) was a Kenyan paleoanthropologist, conservationist and politician. Leakey held a number of official positions in Kenya, mostly in institutions of archaeology and wildlife cons ...
*
Joseph Mucheru, Kenyan
Cabinet Secretary for ICT
*
*
Malik Obama
Abon'go Malik "Roy" Obama (born March 1958) is a Kenyan-American businessman and politician known for being the older half-brother of 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama, and the eldest son of economist Barack Obama Sr.
Biograph ...
*
John Sibi-Okumu
John Sibi-Okumu is a Kenyan actor and journalist, best known internationally for his role in ''The Constant Gardener''.
Biography
John Sibi-Okumu was born in 1954 in the Western part Kenya at a place called Budalangibr> He received his formal ...
*
Sir Nilesh Samani
*
Pascal Tokodi
*
Binyavanga Wainaina
Kenneth Binyavanga Wainaina (18 January 1971 – 21 May 2019) was a Kenyan author, journalist and 2002 winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing. In April 2014, ''Time'' magazine included Wainaina in its annual ''Time'' 100 as one of the "Mo ...
*
References
External links
Lenana SchoolHome
{{Authority control
Education in Nairobi
Boarding schools in Kenya
Educational institutions established in 1949
1949 establishments in Kenya