Pembroke House

Focus

Bringing out the best in every child

Day fees

$11,500–$19,200

Boarding fees

$11,500–$19,200

Pupils

220

Ages

6 months to 13 years

Spear’s Review

In the heart of Kenya, a few hours outside Nairobi, is a truly superb boarding prep school run on a traditional UK curriculum but multicultural and modern in teaching practice, diversity and inclusivity.

Children from all over the world fly to Pembroke House for the freedom it offers its pupils, as well as the strength of character, good manners, civility and team spirit it engenders. The boys and girls are taught to rely on each other in school and in the countryside around. Following the British Common Entrance programme, destinations include top schools in Britain and internationally.

Head teacher

Deborah Boyd-Moss, who is in her 12th year as headmistress at Pembroke House, was born in Tanzania and brought up in the UK. She graduated with a master’s from Cambridge University and completed her PGCE there. Boyd-Moss previously taught at the Banda in Nairobi.

Throughout her tenure at Pembroke, she has overseen the expansion of the school’s facilities, including the STEAM Centre and theatre space; she also launched its pre-prep programme and has helped the school embrace a bolder curriculum with a greater focus on digital learning.

Admissions

According to the school:

Pembroke House is non-selective: registrations are open all year and children of all ages are accepted depending on availability of spaces in the relevant year group. Applications from candidates with a diverse range of backgrounds are encouraged. One-term ‘sabbaticals’ are also offered. Parents are required to provide two recent reports from a child’s previous school, and the head may contact the school for further information, if required. 

Feeder schools

As a prep school with a nursery and pre-prep, most children start their learning journey at Pembroke House.

Destination schools

Marlborough College, Sherborne Girls, Sedbergh.

Accessibility

Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International Airport; 2 hours 40 mins

Location

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