Maseno School is among the oldest formal education school in Kisumu County in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. It was established in 1906 by the Missionaries of the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...

(CMS) as a school for the children of African chiefs. The first administrator of the school was Rev. James Jamieson Willis fondly remembered as J.J Willis. In 1905, Willis was sent to explore the

Kavirondo Kavirondo is the former name of the region surrounding Kavirondo Gulf (now Winam Gulf) as well as of two native peoples living there under the regime of British East Africa (The "Nilotic Kavirondo" and the "Bantu Kavirondo"). Broadly, this was defi ...

or lake region of Kenya as a prospective place for the establishment of a mission. After touring the area Willis pitched tent under a

Hickory Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes around 18 species. Five or six species are native to China, Indochina, and India (Assam), as many as twelve are native to the United States, four are found in Mexi ...

tree (''Carya ovalis'') known in the local languages as ''oseno'' (

Luo Luo may refer to: Luo peoples and languages *Luo peoples, an ethno-linguistic group of eastern and central Africa **Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania or Joluo, an ethnic group in western Kenya, eastern Uganda, and northern Tanzania. *** Luoland, th ...

) and ''omseno'' (

Luhya Luhya or Abaluyia may refer to: * Luhya people * Luhya language Luhya (; also Luyia, Luhia or Luhiya) is a Bantu language of western Kenya. Dialects The various Luhya tribes speak several related languages and dialects, though some of them are ...

). That particular place was proposed to be the site of the new mission and in 1906, a chapel, the Rock of Ages, later known as St. Paul's Chapel was built next to the tree. The place became known as

Maseno Maseno is a town in Kisumu, the third largest city in Kenya. It is located along Kisumu - Busia, Kenya, Busia highway 25 kilometers to the provincial capital and it is in north west ward. Another road connects Maseno to Vihiga town, located 15 kilo ...

and in 1906 the Missionaries established Maseno School. The first students were six sons of African chiefs. The establishment of the school in the area attracted youthful boys from all over Western Kenya. Besides reading and writing, students were taught various skills such as

carpentry Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters tr ...

tailoring A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ea ...

, building,

telegraphy Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

and clerical work. Teacher training was introduced in 1920 to train teachers who would in turn teach new students. Those who studied at the school were tested at the end of their courses and awarded certificates. 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 ...

(KCSE) nationwide and is consistently ranked highly in its category of schools with large enrolment.

Influential Administrators

Canon Stansfield, a doctor and clergyman. Stansfield implemented various reforms which included variation of diet and helped construct a swimming pool at the mission. The swimming pool which has since disappeared, was the only one of its kind in East Africa. It was situated near a grove by two streams flowing down Bunyore hills.

Edward Carey Francis Edward Carey Francis OBE, (13 September 1897 – 27 July 1966) was a British mathematician and Anglican missionary to Kenya, where he became "arguably the most influential educationist in Kenya's modern history". He was born in Hampstead, London. ...

, came to Kenya as a missionary and teacher from Cambridge UK and the colonial office helped secure him a job as headmaster at Maseno School in December 1927. His illustrious administration of Maseno School attracted other teachers from

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

and the school became an academic oasis in East Africa. Francis headed Maseno School from 1928 to 1940. Maseno Mission continued to support the school. A veterinary school, teacher training college and a nursing school were set up at Maseno. The veterinary school was established in 1935, while the nursing school was established in 1935 to train nursing assistants and midwives. The teachers' training college named Siriba Teachers Training College was established in 1940 and in 50 years later merged with the Government Training Institute at Maseno to become

Maseno University Maseno University is a public university based in the Maseno district of the city of Kisumu, Kenya, situated along the Equator. It was fully fledged as a university in 2001, after being a constituent college of Moi University for a decade. It is o ...

. The current Principal is Mr Peter OWINO,a teacher of French and a sitting member of the Board of Trustees of Alliance Française de Nairobi.He is the former National Chair of the Kenya Association of Teachers of French.He is also the Founder National Coordinator of the Network of Resource Centers for French in Kenya(CRKF0.

Notable alumni

Barack Obama Sr. Barack Hussein Obama Sr. (; 18 June 1934 – 24 November 1982) was a Kenyan senior governmental economist and the father of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States. He is a central figure of his son's memoir, '' Dreams from My Fa ...

, senior governmental economist and the father and namesake of

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

* Thomas R. Odhiambo (4 February 1931 – 26 May 2003), a Kenyan entomologist and environmental activist who directed research and scientific development in Africa *

Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Jaramogi Ajuma Oginga Odinga (October 1911 – 20 January 1994) was a Luo (Kenya), Luo chieftain who became a prominent figure in Kenya's struggle for independence. He later served as Kenya's first Vice-President of Kenya, Vice-President, and t ...

, Kenya's first Vice PresidentR * Reuben J. Olembo: academic, geneticist, environmentalist. Former Deputy Executive Director of UNEP *

Achieng Oneko Ramogi Achieng Oneko (1920–2007) was a Kenyan freedom fighter and a politician. In Kenya, he is considered as a national hero. He was born in Tieng'a village in Uyoma sub-location in Bondo District in 1920 and educated at Maseno School. Det ...

(1920-2007) National hero, freedom fighter, one of Kapenguria Six. MP Nakuru, minister of Information in Kenyatta's first cabinet *

David Wasawo Professor David Peter Simon Wasawo (17 May 1923 – 4 February 2014) was a Kenyan zoologist, conservationist, and university administrator. After studying at Uganda's Makerere University he earned an M.A. at the University of Oxford and a PhD at ...

, zoologist and educator

Sports Facilities

These range from

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

and soccer pitches,

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...

tracks,

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

fields, badminton, tennis and

basketball court In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor, with baskets at each end. Indoor basketball courts are almost always made of polished wood, usually maple, with -high rims on each basket. Outdoor sur ...

s. Annual inter-house competitions are held, from which the school's representatives selected. The school always fields competitive teams in soccer, athletics,

Cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

, basketball,

Swimming (sport) Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

, hockey,

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

and volleyball.

References

# http://www.masenoschool.sc.ke/content.php?pid=1 # https://web.archive.org/web/20110726201341/http://www.jaramogifoundation.org/html/symposium_maseno.html # http://www.masenoschool.sc.ke/content.php?pid=48 # http://www.masenoschool.sc.ke/content.php?pid=49 # http://www.masenoschool.sc.ke/content.php?pid=60 # http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000080477&story_title=maseno-recapture-lake-basketball-crown # https://archive.today/20130630015139/http://ollows.com/index.php/maseno-school-win-30th-blackrock/ {{Coord, -0.001581, 34.606329, format=dms, type:edu, display=title High schools and secondary schools in Kenya Education in Nyanza Province Educational institutions established in 1906 1906 establishments in Kenya Christian schools in Kenya

Influential Administrators

Notable alumni

Sports Facilities

See also

References