St. Patrick's High School (formerly Chebokokwa School) in

Iten Iten is a town in Elgeyo-Marakwet County in the Republic of Kenya and serves as the capital and is the largest town in the county. International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) awarded the town with a plaque recognising Iten as a Wo ...

Elgeyo Marakwet County Elgeyo-Marakwet County is one of Kenya's 47 counties. Located in the former Rift Valley Province, its capital and largest town is Iten. It borders the counties of West Pokot to the north, Baringo County to the east, southeast and south, Uasi ...

, (formerly

Rift Valley Province Rift Valley Province () of Kenya, bordering Uganda, was one of Kenya's eight provinces, before the 2013 Kenyan general election. Rift Valley Province was the largest and one of the most economically important provinces in Kenya. It was dominated ...

) in

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. ...

is a boys only

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Eldoret. It operates as a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

for about 1600 students, from all parts of Kenya. The school has a staff of about 28 teachers and a similar number of support personnel. The school was founded by the

Patrician Brothers The Patrician Brothers officially named Brothers of Saint Patrick (), abbreviated F.S.P. is a Catholic lay religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men founded for the religious and literary education of the youth and the instruction of th ...

, Irish

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

to Kenya in 1961, following 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, and the ...

, when there were only two other secondary schools for African boys north of

Naivasha Naivasha is a town in Nakuru County, Kenya, north west of Nairobi. From 1969, the population expanded by a factor of 17 times to over 355,383 at the 2019 census. It is situated on the shores of Lake Naivasha, from which it takes its name. The ...

. The school offsets student fees with an on-campus farm. The school claims to be in the academic top 100 out of 2200 such schools in Kenya. The “ Iten Maths Contest,” started in 1975, is a national

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

competition of secondary schools, hosted, organised and judged by St. Patrick’s High School staff. In 1989, the school was one of the first in Kenya to get computers. It remains one of the most advanced through its network of alumni worldwide.

Athletics

Brother Colm O'Connell of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

came to

in 1976 expecting to stay just three months teaching

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

but has remained there ever since. He began coaching a

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

team at the school. The product of the team is some of the best middle- and long-distance running

athletes An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including trac ...

in the world, the likes of 800M World champion David Rudisha including several Olympic gold medalists, and numerous world champions world record setters and elite marathoners. Many athletes are attracted to the school. The surrounding town of Iten, with a population of about 4,000, is said to house as many as 500 athletes, a high

altitude training Altitude training is the practice by some endurance athletes of training for several weeks at high altitude, preferably over above sea level, though more commonly at intermediate altitudes due to the shortage of suitable high-altitude locations. ...

camp, and many people related to the sport. The school also has won the national

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

championship 17 times, 15 in a row.

Notable alumni

* King Ianel Chumbade -Student representative, TV host and Politician *

Matthew Birir Matthew Kiprotich Birir (born 5 July 1972) is a former athlete from Kenya and a winner of the 3000 m steeplechase at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Biography Born in Eldama Ravine, Matthew Birir started running, when he attended the famous St. Patr ...

-Olympic Gold medalist and World Junior Champion * Michael Boit - Olympic Bronze medalist, former Sports Commissioner of Kenya and currently a professor of sports science at

Kenyatta University Kenyatta University (KU) is a public university with its main campus in Nairobi, Kenya. It acquired the status of university in 1985, being the third university after University of Nairobi (1970) and Moi University (1984). As of October 2014, it ...

* Charles Cheruiyot *

Kipkoech Cheruiyot Kipkoech ("Kip") Cheruiyot ( Charles Kipkoech Cheruiyot; born December 2, 1964) is a retired middle distance runner from Kenya. Biography At the 1982 African Championships, he won the 1500 metres gold medal, leaving the famous Saïd Aouita in ...

- World Junior record holder * Cornelius Chirchir - World Junior record holder, World Junior and Youth Champion *

William Chirchir William Chirchir (born 6 February 1979, in Bomet) is a Kenyan runner who specializes in the 1500 metres. He is a former holder of the world junior record over the distance with 3:33.24 minutes from 1998. Achievements Personal bests *800 metres ...

- World Junior record holder, World Junior Champion * Ibrahim Hussein - World record holder* in the

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

New York Marathon The New York City Marathon, currently branded as the TCS New York City Marathon for sponsorship reasons, is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 fin ...

winner and 3-time winner of the

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...

Japheth Kimutai Japheth Kimutai (born 20 December 1978 in Lelmokwo, Nandi District) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner who specialized in 800 metres. In 1998 he won the gold medal at the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games in a time of 1:43.82. In the same year ...

- World Junior record holder *

Wilson Boit Kipketer Wilson Boit Kipketer (born 6 October 1973 in Kenya) is a middle and long distance athlete most widely known for running the 3000 m steeplechase. On 13 August 1997, at the Weltklasse Zürich, he set the world record in the steeplechase at 7:59 ...

-World record holder

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually Abbreviation, abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase (athletics), steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 met ...

, World Champion, Olympic medalist *

Wilson Kipketer Wilson Kosgei Kipketer (born 12 December 1972) is a Danish former middle distance runner. With a personal best of 1:41.11, Kipketer is tied with Emmanuel Wanyonyi as the second fastest of all time over the 800 meter distance, behind David ...

- 4 World Championships, 2 Olympic medals, multiple world records at

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of a ...

and

1000 metres The 1000 metres, 1 kilometer run, or 1K run is an uncommon middle-distance running event in track and field competitions. It consists of two and a half laps around an outdoor 400 m track, or five laps around an indoor 200 m track. The 1000 ...

. * Godfrey Kiprotich - long distance runner *

Michael Kipyego Michael Kipkorir Kipyego (born 2 October 1983) is a Kenyan runner who competes in marathon races. He was initially a specialist in the 3000 metres steeplechase and was the 2002 World Junior Champion in the event. He represented Kenya in the stee ...

- middle- and long-distance runner, multiple marathon winner *

Christopher Kipyego Christopher Kipyego (born 13 June 1974) is a runner from Kenya who has won multiple major marathon races, including the Mexico City Marathon (''spanish: Maratón Internacional de la Ciudad de México'') in 2006 with a time of 2:17:23. Early caree ...

- middle- and long-distance runner, multiple marathon winner *

Peter Rono Peter Kipchumba Rono (born 31 July 1967) is a former Kenyan athlete, who won the 1,500 metres at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Career Born in Kamobo village, near Kapsabet, Rono won the gold medal at the Africa Cross Country Championships in ...

- Olympic Gold medalist * Isaac Songok - World Junior record holder, World Youth Champion and Cross Country World Champion

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Patrick's High School, Iten, Kenya Patrician Brothers schools Education in Rift Valley Province Catholic secondary schools in Kenya Boys' schools in Kenya Educational institutions established in 1961 1961 establishments in Kenya