A boarding school is a school where students live on campus, and the fee for that stay is shown as its own line, apart from tuition and meals. Public senior schools now charge under a fee structure set by the Ministry of Education, and under it parents who pay boarding in full pay between Sh25,385 and Sh30,385, depending on the school category.
Source: The Star, 2026
How much does boarding cost in a public senior school?
The new public senior school fee structure applies to learners in both the CBC and the 8-4-4 system. It took effect on January 5, 2026, and it cancels Gazette Notice No. 1555 of 2015. The total a parent pays depends on what the school was allowed to charge before the new structure, so the figures below are not one single price.
| Case under the February 2026 structure | Parents pay | Government pays | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schools previously allowed to charge up to Sh53,554 | Up to Sh53,554 | Sh22,244 | Sh75,798 |
| Schools previously allowed to charge Sh40,535 | Sh40,535 | Sh22,244 | Sh62,779 |
| Parents who pay boarding in full | Sh25,385 to Sh30,385, by school category | Not stated | Not stated |
| Special needs boarding schools | Sh12,790 | Sh57,974 | Not stated |
Source: The Star, 2026
Day senior schools no longer charge parents a fee for their children. The government covers the full Sh22,244 yearly cost of each day school student.
Source: The Star, 2026
Why do the boarding fee figures disagree?
Three reports give three different numbers for public boarding, and that gap matters when you budget. Kenyans.co.ke reported a standard annual fee of Ksh53,000 for all boarding senior secondary schools, to start in January 2026. The Star reported in February 2026 that parents may pay up to Sh53,554. Citizen Digital reported in November 2025 that the Ministry denied any boarding fee increase and said nothing had changed for parents.
Source: Kenyans.co.ke, 2025
Source: The Star, 2026
Source: Citizen Digital, 2025
The exact figure in the official gazette notice was not read for this guide. Do not quote a boarding amount until you have checked the notice itself. The November 2025 guideline also dropped the old grouping of schools by infrastructure and location when setting fees.
Source: Kenyans.co.ke, 2025
What does the boarding fee cover?
Parents do not pay for every cost a student meets at school. Under the boarding fee, the Star report says parents do not pay for the items below.
| Item | Paid by parents under the boarding fee? |
|---|---|
| Teaching and learning materials | No |
| Medical and insurance | No |
| SMASSE | No |
Source: The Star, 2026
Every school must give each student a fee structure at the start of each term. It has to show the tuition, boarding and meals amounts clearly. Public schools may not charge tuition or any other extra fee or levy outside the stipulated structure. A school that wants to add a levy must first ask the Ministry in writing and get approval.
Source: Kenyans.co.ke, 2025
Source: The Star, 2026
Reports say some heads still charge fees beyond the structure. That claim has not been confirmed from an official source, so ask the school for its written fee structure and check it against the Ministry's figures.
How are senior school fees paid across the year?
Schools must spread fees over the three terms at a ratio of 50:30:20. The first term therefore carries the largest share, the second term 30 percent, and the third term 20 percent. The per-term amount for a particular school is not confirmed here, so use that school's written fee structure for the real figure. To turn the split into a plan, the school fees budget calculator can help you test different amounts.
Source: The Star, 2026
How much do private and international boarding schools charge?
Private and international boarding costs are far above the public senior school figures. The table below shows what the sources checked for this guide list. Woodcreek School's figures come from a school directory profile for 2026/27, and the Nairobi ranges come from a September 2026 cost guide.
| School type | Cost item | Reported figure |
|---|---|---|
| Woodcreek School | Annual tuition, 2026/27 | KES 824,000 to KES 2,337,500 |
| Woodcreek School | Registration fee for boarders, non-refundable | KES 25,000 |
| Woodcreek School | Temporary boarding | KES 10,000 per day, paid in advance |
| Nairobi British-curriculum international schools | Primary, per year | Roughly KES 900,000 to KES 2 million |
| Nairobi British-curriculum international schools | Secondary, per year | Roughly KES 1.5 to 3.5 million |
Source: doris.school, 2026
Source: International School Advisor, 2026
Woodcreek's per-term fees are not confirmed. Fee sites split their figures by year group and category, and the figures do not match each other. Ask the school for its 2026/27 fee schedule.
Nairobi international schools almost always quote fees in Kenyan shillings per term, so compare like with like. Families should also budget for a refundable deposit, application fees, transport, lunch and exam fees on top of tuition. Most international schools require a full term's written notice before a child can be withdrawn.
Source: International School Advisor, 2026
How do I get a boarding place in senior school?
A learner does not simply apply to one boarding school. Grade 9 learners must select 12 senior schools based on their preferred pathways, and nine of those choices must be boarding schools. Three must be in the home county and six outside it. Placement considers learner choice, merit, psychometric test results, regional equity or affirmative action, and school capacity. For the exam side of placement, read KJSEA results and placement.
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Schools a learner selects | 12 |
| Boarding schools among them | 9 (3 in the home county, 6 outside it) |
| Admission to senior schools began | January 12, 2026 |
| Check selections by SMS | Send the assessment number to 22263, which costs Sh30 |
Source: The Star, 2025
Parents can also check school selections on the Ministry's online portal, at the Ministry of Education school selections portal.
Source: The Star, 2025
What rules protect boarding students?
The Ministry has instructed boarding schools never to send unaccompanied students out of school after 9 am. Schools are also expected to set up audit committees to oversee how they spend money. These are the rules this guide could confirm from a source it opened.
Source: Kenyans.co.ke, 2025
Other safety rules are not confirmed here. That includes school visits, how boarding schools are accredited, and any boarding safety checks for parents. Check the official Ministry site before you rely on any of them. See how we compile the register for how school listings are built.
What is still unconfirmed?
Checked on 26 October 2026, the points below could not be confirmed from a source this desk opened. Treat each one as unconfirmed until you see it on an official site.
- The exact public boarding fee in the official gazette notice.
- Whether reports that some Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu schools already charge the revised boarding fees are accurate.
- Whether the Basic Education Bill 2026, with its proposed penalties for illegal fees, has passed, and in what final wording.
- Fee waivers, bursaries and needs-based places for boarding.
- The per-term boarding fees of most private and international boarding schools.
Source: The Star, 2026
Source: Citizen Digital, 2025
Key figures to cite
The new senior school fee structure took effect on January 5, 2026, and applies to learners in both the CBC and the 8-4-4 system.
Source: The Star, 2026
Schools must spread fees across the three terms in a 50:30:20 ratio.
Source: The Star, 2026
Parents who pay boarding fees in full pay between Sh25,385 and Sh30,385, depending on the school category.
Source: The Star, 2026
Day senior schools no longer charge parents a fee for their children.
Source: The Star, 2026
A Grade 9 learner must select 12 senior schools, and nine of them must be boarding schools.
Source: The Star, 2025
Woodcreek School charges boarders a non-refundable registration fee of KES 25,000.
Source: doris.school, 2026
Parents can check their child's selected schools by texting the assessment number to 22263, which costs Sh30.
Source: The Star, 2025
Read next
- International schools in Kenya
- National and extra-county schools as clusters
- Top schools by KCSE
- How many schools are in Kenya?
Looking for a school? Search every school on the register or find schools near you. We explain how the register is built on the methodology page.
Questions people ask
What are the fees per term at Woodcreek school?
Per-term fees at Woodcreek are not confirmed. The school's directory profile lists annual tuition for 2026/27 at KES 824,000 to KES 2,337,500, but fee figures on directory sites are split by year group and category and do not agree. Ask the school for its 2026/27 fee schedule.
Source: doris.school, 2026
Which boarding school is the cheapest?
No source we checked names the cheapest boarding school, so this guide does not name one. Public senior school boarding follows the Ministry's fee structure, while private and international schools publish their own fees by year group and term. Compare each school's written fee schedule before you decide.
Which is the best boarding school in Kenya?
No source we checked ranks boarding schools, so this article does not rank them. Visit the school's own page, ask about its boarding care, and read its fee structure. You can find every school on the search page.
Which boarding school is best for poor students?
No official source names a boarding school for poor students. Fee waivers, bursaries and needs-based boarding places were not found in a source we opened. Ask each school directly whether it has support for learners who cannot afford the full fee.
What is the hardest boarding school to get into?
No source we checked ranks schools by how hard they are to enter, so no answer is given here. Placement looks at learner choice, merit, psychometric test results, regional equity or affirmative action, and school capacity. Learners must select 12 schools, and nine of them must be boarding schools.
Source: The Star, 2025
What age is best to start boarding school?
No source we checked gives a best age for boarding, so this guide does not give one. A child's senior school place follows the placement process, which starts with the Grade 9 selections. Ask the school about its supervision and pastoral care before you decide.
Are boarding schools good?
No source we opened supports a general answer, so the answer depends on the school. Ask each school how its boarding houses are supervised and how it gives parents its fee structure each term. The Ministry has told boarding schools never to send unaccompanied students out of school after 9 am.
Source: Kenyans.co.ke, 2025
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