Lenana School is one of the most popular national schools in Kenya, known for its remarkable academic performance and state-of-the-art learning facilities.
The secondary school has also produced several prominent leaders, including Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, former ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru, and the late Wafula Chebukati, former chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
Founded in 1949 in Karen, Nairobi, Lenana School is the brainchild of colonial Governor Philip Mitchell, who had served as the Governor of Uganda, Fiji, and Kenya.
At the time, the school was known as the Duke of York and was reserved for white students. The institution boasted impressive facilities, including a golf course, rifle range, cricket oval, and swimming pool.
In the early 1960s, the school began to diversify, admitting its first black and Asian students. It was later in 1969 renamed Lenana School after Chief Laibon Lenana, a Maasai leader who collaborated with the British.
James Kamunge made history as the first Kenyan principal of the school initially heading an all-white teaching staff.
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The school had a Combined Cadet Force training course of para-military standards, which included uniforms, guns, ammunition, an armoury, a parade ground with adjacent stores and offices, an obstacle course, and a shooting range.
The course was initiated during the colonial era amidst the Mau Mau uprising and continued until it was stopped by the government after the 1982 coup attempt.
The bell from HMS Duke of York is mounted on a bell shed in front of the school parade ground, between the chapel and the main hall.
A painting of Chief Lenana, created by student artist Sam Madoka, hangs next to the staircase leading to the second floor of the administration block.
Currently, the school has a student population of 2,000 with William Kemei as the current principal.
Lenana School boasts a distinguished alumni list who have excelled in various fields including politics, journalism, and business.
Through the 1980s and into the 21st century, the national School has maintained strong academic performance, consistently ranking among the top 100 schools nationally in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations.
