Responsive Boarding

We are a full-boarding school with a responsive approach to individual family situations. Some children start as day children but before long many children decide on their own that at Pembroke House it’s more fun to board! At weekends the Junior School may leave on a Friday afternoon, if they have no matches, and return for Chapel on Sunday evening. Children in the Middle or Senior School may go out on a Saturday afternoon, also returning in time for Chapel. On average about 60 children will stay in over the weekend. Should parents wish to take their children out overnight during the week, they can ask the Headmistress.

Our situation, an hour and a half from Nairobi means we are within easy reach. Several airstrips close to the school means that many families actually fly their children to and from school. However at Pembroke House the boarding environment offers the advantage of time and space for a full education. While many day children in Nairobi are stuck in the increasingly congested roads in and around the city, children at Pembroke House have time to practice their sport, music or drama, go horse-riding, play with their friends or just relax in dorms reading a book. The pace of life is thus gentler than that a day school. Parents also benefit, as it allows them to balance their busy and hectic daily lives in the week with quality family time at the weekends and during the holidays. We also have a bus service available between Nairobi ABC centre and Pembroke House.

In addition children at Pembroke House acquire an admirable level of maturity, while amongst the many valuable lessons they learn from boarding school, they learn to organise themselves, which they find of great assistance when they move on to senior school.

Boarding Houses
The children live in two houses: Mackie House for boys and Scholes House for girls, named after two former long-standing members of staff who contributed much to life at Pembroke. Currently there are 68 boys and 75 girls at Pembroke House.

Mackie House has 14 dormitories which each sleep six boys and are named after different Kenyan mountains. Scholes House has 10 dormitories named after Kenyan birds, each sleeping eigth girls.

In each House the dormitories have one or more children from Year 8, who is a dormitory prefect in charge of the dormitory and sleeping there. This works extremely well as these older children assist with the discipline and general care of their younger dormitory members. In return the younger children learn how to behave well and to help their dormitory prefect at times like dormitory inspection.

Each House has a House Parent and an Assistant House Parent. There is also usually one or two gap-year students who will stay at Pembroke House for anything between a term and a year, and they are very popular with the children.

The Houses are structured and well-disciplined safe havens for the children with rules you would expect in your own home. We are very aware that the House is “home” for the duration of the term and while the children are made to feel a sense of belonging and above all happy, they also learn valuable qualities such as respect for other children’s space and belongings. Good manners are also encouraged and appreciated.

We aim to have a happy school of children who have qualities that will prepare them for success in later life: confidence, self-discipline, courtesy and the ability to take the initiative and be a leader.