Maseno School is a national boys’ boarding school located in located in Maseno Town, Kisumu County, about 25 kilometres northwest of Kisumu City along the Kisumu-Busia Road.
The school, which is among Kenya’s oldest formal education institutions, was established in 1906 by missionaries from the Church Missionary Society (CMS).
Notably Rev. James Jamieson Willis pitched a tent under a hickory tree (locally known as oseno in Dholuo and oluseno in Luhya) to serve as the first classroom.
Initially, the school admitted six sons of local chiefs, following a model similar to that used in Uganda. Over time, the institution attracted boys from across western Kenya and beyond.
Maseno in its early years offered vocational skills such as carpentry, tailoring, masonry, printing, telegraphy, and clerical work. A chapel named ‘The Rock of Ages,’ later known as St. Paul’s Chapel, was also established adjacent to the oseno tree in the same year.
A major turning point came in 1910 when students, led by Ojijo Oteko, staged a protest demanding more academic rigor. This led to the introduction of a formal curriculum.
In 1920, a teacher training course was introduced, setting the foundation for the future Siriba Teachers’ College, which in 1990 merged with the Government Training Institute to become Maseno University. Around 1935, a veterinary school and a nursing training center were also set up in Maseno.
Maseno School’s growth in stature is closely associated with Edward Carey Francis, who served as the school’s sixth principal from 1928 to 1940.
A distinguished Cambridge mathematician and educator, Carey Francis left a prestigious academic position to join Maseno.
Maseno School history
Carey is credited with instilling high academic and disciplinary standards that remain the school’s hallmark.
When Alliance High School began offering the Cambridge Certificate examinations in 1939, Maseno became one of its key feeder schools due to its students’ strong performance.
By 1948, Maseno School was offering the Cambridge exams directly.
Notable alumni of the school include Kenya’s first Vice President the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Government economist and father of former U.S. President Barack Obama, Barack Obama Sr. and Independence hero Achieng Oneko among others.
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Maseno School is among few institutions in the country which compress the four-year secondary school curriculum into three years, using the final year for exam-focused revision and mastery.
The national school currently has over 1,600 students drawn from all over the country who are housed in ten hostels, some of which are named after prominent alumni.
The school calendar follows a three-month term structure with breaks in between.
A standout attribute of the school is its long-standing tradition of discipline—it has never experienced a student strike since its founding in 1906.
In 2013, Maseno School’s historic buildings were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, affirming its architectural and educational legacy.
Performance
The school has continued to excel in national examinations, consistently ranking among the top institutions in Kenya.
In the 2024 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations the school had 678 candidates, with more than 96% achieving the minimum university entry grade under full government sponsorship.
36 students scored a straight A, while 161 scored an A-. Additionally, 226 students attained a B+, 149 scored a B, while 61 managed a B-.
36 students also scored a C+, 7 scored C, and the lowest grade recorded was a C-, obtained by just two students.
The school’s impressive performance continued in 2024, with candidates achieving a mean score of 9.7286 — a slight improvement from the 9.365 recorded in the 2023 KCSE.
School Fees
The government had earlier set a directive specifying the maximum yearly school fees that parents are expected to pay.
As part of the Ministry of Education’s 2020 guidelines, Kenya’s 103 national schools were divided into four clusters.
Maseno School was categorized under the prestigious Cluster Three (III), which places the official annual fee limit at around Ksh75,798 per student.
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However, the total fees payable to the school in 2025 for Form 2, 3, and 4 students was Ksh74,554.
Location and contacts
The school is located in Maseno Town near the border of Kisumu and Vihiga Counties about 25 kilometres northwest of Kisumu City along the Kisumu – Busia Road.
In case you have any complaints, queries, or comments, you can reach the institution’s administration through the contacts below.
Mobile phone/ telephone number: 0713715956, 0738934812
Postal address: P.O. Box 120-40105 Maseno
Email address: [email protected]
Official website: www.masenoschool.sc.ke
Maseno School KNEC code: 39700001
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