Saint Mary's School, commonly known as Saints, is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

and secondary

day A day is the time rotation period, period of a full Earth's rotation, rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours (86,400 seconds). As a day passes at a given location it experiences morning, afternoon, evening, ...

school for boys located in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. Administered by the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi () is the Metropolitan See for the ecclesiastical province of Nairobi in Kenya, and the Primatial see for Kenya. History *26 February 1860: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Zanguebar from the D ...

, the school offers

KCPE The Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) was a certificate awarded to students after completing the approved eight-year course in primary education in Kenya. The examination was supervised by the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) ...

, KCSE,

IGCSE The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is an English language based secondary qualification similar to the GCSE and is recognised in the United Kingdom as being equivalent to the GCSE for the purposes of recognising ...

and IBDP certification. The school admits female students for the IB Diploma Programme. The school's motto is ''"Bonitas, Disciplina, Scientia"'', which is

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for "Goodness, Discipline, Knowledge".

History

St. Mary's School was founded in 1939 in the Parklands area of Nairobi, from

Blackrock College Blackrock College () is a voluntary day and boarding Catholic secondary school for boys aged 13–18, in Williamstown, Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland. It was founded by French missionary Jules Leman in 1860 as a school and later became al ...

in Dublin, Ireland. In September 1945, the school was moved to a temporary structure on an site on the land belonging to the St. Austin's Mission in the

Muthangari Muthangari is a neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi. It is approximately northwest of the central business district of Nairobi. Location Muthangari is located approximately northwest of Nairobi's central business district. It is straddled b ...

area of Westlands. The present-day school buildings were completed in 1954, including the twin towers that stand at the school's quadrangle and the older St. Austin's Catholic Church, which sits beside the school's parking area. In between the towers is the staff room where teachers convene for meetings and take their breaks, which used to be the school's library.

Present day

From the outset, Saints has always had a combined primary and secondary school. Although only boys are admitted to the primary and secondary schools, girls (along with boys) are admitted to the

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the I ...

diploma course which is a post- O-level programme offered by the school since 1982. Entrants are chosen on the basis of their KCSE and IGCSE results. The school year runs from January to November. The school is near its neighbouring

sister school A sister school is usually a pair of schools, usually single-sex school, one with female students and the other with male students. This relationship is seen to benefit both schools. For instance, when Harvard University was a male-only school, Ra ...

, Loreto Convent Msongari, separated only by a fence and a gate, and is situated approximately away from its rival,

Strathmore School Strathmore School is Kenya's first multi-racial school, established in 1961 in the Lavington area of Nairobi. It began as a residential Sixth Form College offering British-styled A-level courses and in 1963 switched from the Cambridge School Certi ...

. Students are encouraged to participate in extra-curricular activities, which include sports, clubs, music and drama. All the school's sports teams are nicknamed "Saints", also the school's nickname.

Theatre

Since 1971, the school has been staging a musical every year, open to the general public. The musical week runs on specific dates from Tuesday to Saturday. The school has staged its own productions of famous plays such as ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

'', ''

The Yeomen of the Guard ''The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid'', is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 3 October 1888 and ran for 423 performances. This was the eleventh ...

'', ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the childr ...

'', ''

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' is a sung-through musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice ...

'', ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

'', '' Sarafina!'', ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'', ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical theater, musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs's 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs (play), Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of ...

'', ''

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical theatre, musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns a confidence trick, con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and ...

'', '' Ipi N'tombi'', ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...

'', '' Zambezi Express'', '' Amazing Grace (the musical)''. Notable guests who have attended the school's shows in the past include former

Prime Minister of Kenya The prime minister of Kenya was a post in the Kenyan government. The first prime minister of Kenya was H.E. Jomo Kenyatta, who became prime minister in 1963. In 1964, when Kenya became a republic, the post of prime minister was abolished and ...

Raila Odinga Raila Amolo Odinga (born 7 January 1945) is a Kenyan politician who served as the Prime Minister of Kenya from 2008 to 2013. He was the Member of Parliament (Kenya), Member of Parliament (MP) for Langata Constituency from 1992 to 2013 and has ...

.@RailaOdinga on Twitter: "Arriving at St. Mary's School to watch the musical play "Aida" performed by the students."
(6 March 2014). Retrieved 21 April 2014.

Principals

* Laurence Murren (1939) * Kevin Devenish (1939–1941) * Thomas O'Sullivan (1941–1948) * James Kavanagh (1949–1950) * James Barrett (1951–1953) * John Horgan (1954–1956) * Paul Cunningham (1956–1968) * Thomas Farrelly (1968–1970) * Oliver Ellis (1971–1977) * Michael Malone (1977–1980) * Sean O'Connell (1980–1982) * Cormac O'Brolchain (1982–1984) * Eddie O'Farrell (1984–1990) * Thomas Hogan (1990–1995) * John McMahon (1996–2002) * Simon Otieno (2003–2005) * Boniface Kariuki (2006–2010) * Francis Mburu (2011–2014) * Moses Wafula (2015–2016) * Benedict Otieno (2016–2018) * Peter M. Macharia (2019–2021) * Benedict Otieno (2022–present)

Notable alumni

Biko Adema Biko Wolfgang Adema (born September 1, 1987) is a Kenyan rugby sevens player. He was selected for to compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil. He was a member of Kenya's squad for the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens The 2013 Rugby World Cup Se ...

, Kenyan rugby player * Ian Duncan, Kenyan rally driverDaily Nation, 26 December 2009
Duncan's mustang ride to victory
/ref> *

John Githongo John Githongo (born 1965) is a former Kenyan journalist who investigated bribery and fraud in his home country (Kenya) and later, under the presidency of Mwai Kibaki, took on an official governmental position to fight corruption. In 2005 he lef ...

, Kenyan anti-corruption journalistThe EastAfrican, 14 February 2009
'Traitor' who stayed true to Kenya
/ref> *

Muhoho Kenyatta Muhoho Kenyatta is a Kenyan national and a member of the Kenyatta family. He is a son of Kenya's first President Jomo Kenyatta. His older brother Uhuru Kenyatta is the former president and 4th President of Kenya. He was educated at St. Mary's ...

, Kenyan businessman *

Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta ( born 26 October 1961) is a Kenyan politician who served as the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. The son of Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's first president, he previously served as Prime Minister of Kenya, Deputy Pri ...

4th Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...

President of Kenya The president of the Republic of Kenya () is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Kenya. The president is also the head of the executive branch of the Government of Kenya and is the commander-in-chief of the Kenya De ...

* Jeff Koinange, Kenyan journalist and news anchor *

Gideon Moi Gideon Kipsielei Towett Moi (born 22 October 1963) is a Kenyan politician and former senator of Baringo County, from 2013 to 2022. He was elected with a landslide win of over 80%, trouncing his opponent Jackson Kosgei. He is also the party leade ...

, former senator for

Baringo County Baringo County is one of the 47 Counties of Kenya, counties in Kenya. It is located in the former Rift Valley Province. Its headquarters and largest town is Kabarnet. The county is home to Lake Baringo, Lake Bogoria and Lake Kamnarok. Geographi ...

Lupita Nyong'o Lupita Amondi Nyong'o ( , , ; born 1 March 1983) is an actress who has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Daytime Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, as well as nominations for two British Academy Film Awards, a ...

, Kenyan-Mexican actress and film director * Andrea Sella, Italian chemist and broadcaster * Mohammad Sheikh, Kenyan former international cricketer * Eric Wainaina, Kenyan singer-songwriter *

Jimmy Wanjigi Jimi Richard Wanjigi (born in 1962) is a Kenyan businessman and political strategist. He is the chief executive officer of Nanosol Africa Group of Companies, a privately held family office with interests in various sectors of the Kenyan economy ...

, Kenyan businessman
Leon Adongo
Kenya 7s Player

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's School, Nairobi Schools in Nairobi International Baccalaureate schools in Kenya Educational institutions established in 1939 Catholic primary schools in Kenya Catholic secondary schools in Kenya Spiritan schools 1939 establishments in Kenya