On this page we have addressed some frequently asked questions and outlined our admissions process but please do get in touch if you have any further questions or would like to discuss any aspect Pembroke life in greater detail.
We are delighted that you are considering Pembroke for your child or children and understand that choosing a school is a huge decision. With that in mind, we will do our best to answer any questions you may have, give a thorough insight into life at Pembroke and guide you through the admissions process.
We are really proud of our school community, facilities and the little corner of Kenya that we occupy, and love nothing more than talking about it, so do get in touch and we’ll do our best to explain what we believe it is that makes Pembroke so special.
Following an initial chat, we strongly encourage families to visit Pembroke House with their child or children before enrolling, as it is the best way to get a taste of school life and determine whether it feels like a good fit.
The academic year starts in September and this is when most children join us, although it is possible for children to join at any point through the school year into any Year group. We have a provision for babies from 6 months through to Year 8 (age 13).
We are proud to welcome children from a diverse range of social, cultural and religious backgrounds and are able to offer support to children with special educational needs, providing that our Learning Support Department can accommodate their needs to enable them to thrive. This includes pupils with physical disabilities, as long as our campus can meet their needs. We recommend parents of pupils with special educational needs or physical disabilities to discuss their child’s requirements with us so that we can make adequate provision for them.
In order to keep families together we have a policy of prioritising the siblings of children who already attend Pembroke in the event that places are restricted.
You can read our full Admissions Policy here:
Admissions process
Our aim is to make the admissions process as straightforward as possible. Although the majority of pupils join us in September, we welcome applications for children to join us at any point during the academic year.
We are a non-selective school, which means that children do not have sit entry exams. We require two recent school reports from your child’s current or previous school and The Head may contact the school for further information. Our designated Safeguarding Lead may also seek Safeguarding or Child Protection information and will follow up directly with the school, if appropriate. To secure a place at Pembroke House, parents/guardians are required to pay a one-off joining fee of Ksh. 300,000, Ksh. 225,000 of which is refunded after the pupil’s final term.
Admissions steps
Scholarships
Scholarships are available at entry for those demonstrating exceptional talent in any field. A scholarship award grants the recipient a small reduction in fees.
Parents of children who would like to apply for scholarships are asked to indicate their intention in the registration form. Potential scholars are assessed by the relevant staff members during their visit to the school.
Bursaries
Parents who anticipate difficulty in meeting the balance of the tuition fees are advised to apply for a means-tested bursary at the time of registration.
Means-tested bursaries are provided for families who are unable to meet the school’s full fees. As part of the means-testing process, both parents are required to provide proof of income and assets. The level of support given varies according to need. Bursaries are awarded for twelve months. Parents are required to provide fresh information on financial circumstances for every year that their child attends Pembroke House.
Pembroke House is a registered charity so the amount of support we are able to offer can vary due to fluctuations in school income and bursary funds. Our policy is always to share our bursary pot with as many families as possible, which means that 100% bursaries are not available.
Our 2025 fees are still to be published.
2024 fees in Ksh. per term. (There are three terms annually).
Mini Martlets
Age under 2 years
Ksh. 103,500
Pre Nursery
2 – 3 years
Ksh. 129,500
Nursery
3 – 4 years
Ksh. 135,000
Reception
4 – 5 years
Ksh. 252,000
Year 1
5 years
Ksh. 665,000
Year 2
6 years
Ksh. 997,000
Year 3 – 8
7 years plus
Ksh. 1,107,700
Registration
This is not a binding commitment to join the school, but ensures you are kept up to date, for example on availability of places. It also secures priority over those not yet registered. There is no fee for registration of a child.
Joining fee
Paying the joining fee secures a place at the school for the given year of entry. Should the place not be taken up, the entire joining fee is forfeited.
The joining fee is a one-off fee of Ksh. 300,000, with Ksh. 225,000 refunded after the final term if all obligations are met.
Should a parent wish for a child to defer from the year requested, we will try as far as possible to accommodate requests but may not be able to guarantee the changed joining date.
Extras
Riding – termly – Ksh. 28,520
Music – termly – Ksh. 25,320
LAMDA – termly – Ksh. 13,310
Dance – per session – Ksh. 1,170
Football – per session – Ksh. 1,170
Golf – per session – Ksh. 1,170
Squash – per session – Ksh. 1,170
Swimming – per session – Ksh. 1,170
Tae Kwon Do – per session – Ksh. 1,170
Tennis – per session – Ksh. 1,170
Woodwork – per session – Ksh. 1,170
Pembroke – Naivasha Bus – per return trip – Ksh. 2,330
Pembroke – Nairobi Bus – per return trip – Ksh. 5,780
Learning Support – per lesson – Ksh. 2330 * 1st 10 lessons are included in standard fees.
Learning Support
If required, we offer each child 10 learning support sessions per academic term included in the fees, any additional lessons are charged at Ksh. 2,330 per session.
Day rate
Please get in touch with the school should you be interested in a day rate for your child.
Please note that Pembroke House is a not-for-profit charitable trust.
MICHAELMAS TERM 2024
Start of Term: Tuesday 3rd September
Exeat: Thursday 19th September – Monday 23rd September
Half Term: Saturday 12th October – Wednesday 23rd October
Exeat: Saturday 16th November – Tuesday 19th November
End of Term: Saturday 7th December
LENT TERM 2025
Start of Term: Tuesday 7th January
Exeat: Friday 31st January – Monday 3rd February
Half Term: Saturday 15th February – Monday 24th February
Exeat: Friday 14th March – Monday 17th March
End of Term: Saturday 29th March
TRINITY TERM 2025
Start of Term: Tuesday 22nd April
Exeat: Friday 9th – Monday 11th May
Half Term: Saturday 17th – Monday 26th May
Exeat : Friday 6th – Monday 9th June
End of Term: Friday 4th July
For such a unique school, it’s not surprising that we have our own quirky terminology for the wide array of locations or activities found around our campus:
Our uniform shop is located onsite at the Head’s Hub and provides us with well-designed and high quality Pembroke House branded uniform.
They also sell locally beaded weekend bags, baseball caps, bespoke t-shirts and other unique clothing designs that help raise funds for the school’s Foundation.
sales@pembrokehouseuniform.com
The Head’s Hub is a comfortable detached two bed house and separate two bed cottage set within a landscaped garden, adjoining the sports pitches.
All rooms are available for nightly rental for Pembroke parents on a B&B basis to enable parents an ideal base while collecting their children for exeat or coming to watch them perform in our theatre.
Bookings can be made via: mjnuijtencoulson@pembrokehouse.sc.ke
For families living some distance away and that are unable to easily travel to school we offer a number a transport services. We run frequent bus services between Pembroke, Nairobi (Friday-Sunday), Naivasha (most days) and Nanyuki.
At the beginning and end of exeats, half-terms and at the end of every term, we arrange transport to Naivasha, Nairobi, Wilson and JKIA airports.
Parents need to liaise with the school office to arrange transport for their child. Bus trips are always accompanied and information about drivers and itineraries are shared with parents.
To arrange transport, please email: admin@pembrokehouse.co.ke
Every child is assigned to one of four houses, all named after former headmasters; Fosters (blue), Hazards (yellow), Opies (green) and Turners (red).
Each child is ‘sorted’ in their first assembly by the Sorting Hat (to the great delight of Harry Potter fans!).
Children compete all year in the Cock House competition, earning points as part of a House team and individually. Points are awarded for good deeds in all aspects of school life, from academic effort to a kind act. House points double as credits for the school tuck shop and can be traded for treats at scheduled times during the week.
Each House meets weekly, work points and conducts are gathered, house related issues are discussed and House chants are sung.
Pembroke House sits on a 140 acre countryside campus in the heart of the Great Rift Valley. Located just outside the town of Gilgil, on the Nyahururu Road, Pembroke House is around two and a half hours drive north of Nairobi.
With distant views of the Eburru Hills and Abadares, the school is nestled north of Lake Naivasha and to the south of Soysambu conservancy, Lake Elementaita and Lake Nakuru giving it a unique setting, surrounded by the rich and varied Kenyan landscape.
Gilgil itself has a strong sense of community, much of which revolves around Pembroke School, most school families that live in Gilgil are within quite a small geographical area around Ridge Mount. Sitting at around 1,900 meters above sea level the climate is cooler than many other parts of Kenya and the rain fall a little higher, resulting in a greener landscape with far fewer mosquitos.
Gilgil is well placed for excursions to Laikipia and the Massai Mara, and closer to home, Nakuru, Longonot and Hell’s Gate. Nairobi is within striking distance which enables our children to visit for school trips and away matches against Nairobi schools.
Although Gilgil is small, it has a growing offering of shops as well as a gym and yoga studio, the Manyatta Polo Club, Gilgil Club and Bus Stop café. There are several organic farms selling their produce as well as a small farm shop and a couple of local supermarkets.
The school itself has the Martlet café, a cosy hub where parents congregate for a coffee or to work durning the day. The Martlet is also open in the evenings when there are productions or other events.
Both the ISI and the SIS have inspected Pembroke in recent years. Read what they had to say.
Please review our terms and conditions for important guidelines regarding the running of Pembroke.
A complete list of Pembroke House School policy documents in downloadable PDF format.
There are approximately 200 children in our prep school and 45 in pre-prep.
The children are an almost perfect 50/50 split of girls and boys, with just a few more boys than girls across the whole school.
At Pembroke 70% of children board during the week, that number is higher for the Senior School (Year 7 & 8), and slightly lower for the younger children. At weekends around 40% of children board.
We are very proud to represent 29 different nationalities in our student body.
(Ghanaian, Kenyan, British, Israeli, Ugandan, American, Mauritian, Irish, Greek, Spanish, Italian, Belgium, French, New Zealand, South African, Dutch, German, Zimbabwean, Malawian, Swedish, Lebanese, Tanzanian, Pakistani, Indian, Australian, Swazi (Eswatini), Seychellois, Colombian and Ethiopian).
80% of Pembroke House children go on to either the UK or South Africa, the remaining 20% stay in Kenya or go elsewhere across the globe.
Pembroke has a close relationship with a huge number of excellent schools and excels at successfully pairing each child with the best secondary school for them.
Some schools that Pembroke students have recently joined include:
UK;
Bedford
Blundells
Bryanston
Canford
Cheltenham
Glenalmond
Gordonstoun
Kings Taunton
Malvern College
Marlborough College
Sedbergh
Sherborne Girls
Sherborne School
Shrewsbury School
Uppingham
Kenya;
Braeburn
Peponi
St. Andrew’s Turi
South Africa;
Bishops
Kingswood
St. Andrew’s College
A large sports field that can accommodate:
7 x rugby pitches
8 x hockey fields
10 x netball courts
6 x cricket pitches (including 4 all-weather astro wickets)
2 x football pitches
2 x hardcourt tennis courts
5 x cricket nets (including 3 all-weather astro nets)
1 x 4 lane swimming pool
2 x squash courts
1 x sports hall with astro turf
1 x climbing wall
1 x wobble board / skateboard track
1 x motorcross course
1 x horse cross country course
2 x horse riding arenas
Next door to Pembroke is the Gilgil Club golf course, club tennis courts & Manyatta polo pitches that we also make use of.