Dagoretti High School

Senior-school information — 2026 intake

Senior-school cluster: C2
County: NAIROBI
Administrative subcounty: DAGORETTI
KNEC code: 20405001
UIC: 4TBK
Gender: Boys
Day / boarding: Boarding
Ownership: Public

This school is listed as integrated. The gazette has a separate special-needs-school fee schedule, but this register does not establish whether it applies here.

Fee source: Kenya Gazette Notice No. 1449, effective 5 January 2026. For selection and placement updates, use the government portal.

Other dated register details: Teachers Arena (Ministry register mirror), row 6498. Published 2025-06-01; captured 2026-09-10.

The dated register does not confirm current vacancies, school-specific fees, boarding capacity or support services.

The earlier directory record and historical information are retained below.

Earlier directory summary

Dagoretti High School is in Nairobi County (Dagoretti South Constituency).

Dagoretti High School is a boys boarding secondary school.

Dagoretti High School traces its roots to 1929, when Ruthimitu Independent School was set up for African pupils who had been expelled from mission schools. It was closed in the early 1930s under pressure from missionaries and the colonial government, and reopened in 1939 as Waithaka Independent School, run by the Kikuyu Karing’a Education Association.

During the colonial state of emergency it was shut down and turned into a detention camp. Work to turn the camp back into a school began in 1959; while building went on, the first Form One class spent a year at Thika High School. The school was renamed Dagoretti High School in November 1961, admitted its first students on its own campus in January 1962 and was officially opened on 21 September 1963.

Today it is a boys’ boarding school in Waithaka, on the Nairobi–Kikuyu road about 16 kilometres from the city centre. Its motto is “Elimu ni Mali”.

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Earlier directory details

Legacy directory code: N1010121

Address: 21070-00505 Nbi

Level: Secondary School

Day/Boarding: Boarding

Gender: Boys

Ownership: Public

Sponsor: Central Government/DEB

Motto: Elimu ni Mali

Student Needs: Ordinary

Facts

Acreage per enrolment: 29.8

Pupil Teacher Ratio: 19.2

Total Enrolment: 769

Total Teaching staff: 40

Location

County: Nairobi

Constituency: Dagoretti South

Province: Nairobi

District: Dagoretti

Division: Dagoretti

Location: Uthiru/Ruthimitu

Sub Location: Ruthimitu

Staff

TSC Male Teachers: 16

TSC Female Teachers: 23

PTA Board of Governors Male Teacher: 0

PTA Board of Governors Female Teacher: 1

Non Teaching Staff Male: 35

Non Teaching Staff Female: 6

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Pathways and subject combinations checked 15 October 2026

STEM · 4 combinations

Pure Sciences · 1

Biology, Chemistry, Physics (ST1048)

Applied Sciences · 3

Agriculture, Biology, Geography (ST2071)
Agriculture, Chemistry, Computer Studies (ST2059)
Agriculture, Geography, Physics (ST2075)

Social Sciences · 2 combinations

Humanities & Business Studies · 2

Business Studies, Geography, History & Citizenship (SS2025)
Business Studies, Geography, Literature in English (SS2061)

Arts & Sports Science · 1 combination

Sports · 1

General Science, Sports & Recreation, Theatre & Film (AS2038)

Subjects in these combinations · 12

Agriculture, Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry, Computer Studies, General Science, Geography, History & Citizenship, Literature in English, Physics, Sports & Recreation, Theatre & Film

How subject selection works: what pathways, tracks and the codes mean.