Cities / Nairobi / Braeburn Garden Estate School
Braeburn Garden Estate School
CIS-accredited IB World School and British-curriculum school on a 30-acre campus in Garden Estate, Nairobi, established in 1979 with around 750 day and boarding students. Annual tuition fees for 2025-2026 range from KES 928,800 (Creche) to KES 2,576,000 (Years 12-13).
In brief
The Braeburn group's Garden Estate campus, founded in 1982 on the eastern side of Nairobi, offering British primary and secondary plus the IB Diploma and Career-related Programme in the senior years.
BGES sits inside the wider Braeburn network of schools across Kenya, which gives families predictable curriculum continuity if they move within the country. The IB DP and CP option alongside A Level is genuinely useful in a city where most British-curriculum schools commit to one senior pathway.
Parents who choose BGES typically value the calm, leafy site, the friendly staff, and the diverse intake. Families weighing it against Brookhouse Runda often land here for the lower fees and the more relaxed feel. The criticisms cluster around facility upkeep and communication, with some parents saying that organisation could be tighter and the buildings show their age relative to the newer purpose-built schools. Best understood as a solid mid-tier British and IB school rather than a Brookhouse or ISK alternative.
Fees
| Fee | Age | Type | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creche - Full Day | 2 | Annual | KES 928,800 |
| FS1 (Nursery) - Full Day | 3 | Annual | KES 1,052,400 |
| FS2 (Reception) | 4 | Annual | KES 1,052,399 |
| Years 1 to 6 | 6 | Annual | KES 2,142,599 |
| Years 7 to 8 | 12 | Annual | KES 2,216,100 |
| Year 9 | 14 | Annual | KES 2,236,500 |
| Years 10 & 11 | 15 | Annual | KES 2,385,000 |
| Years 12 & 13 | 17 | Annual | KES 2,576,000 |
| Registration Fee | One-time | KES 5,000 | |
| Deposit (refundable) | One-time | KES 50,000 |
Reviews
- Independent commentary is light but consistent. The 32-acre Garden Estate site, the IB Diploma route alongside the British curriculum, and the mix of around 80 nationalities are the recurring positives.
- The most substantive independent review is a March 2026 student post on the International Schools Database. The reviewer rated academics fantastic and teachers very good, citing motivated peers and a positive academic environment, but rated administration terrible and described facility maintenance as inconsistent despite the theatres and lake.
- Older directory reviews skew positive but short. One Braeburn-group parent said the school is the destination for their children when they reach senior school. Independent aggregator pools sit at four to five reviews and a 3.8 rating.
- The school sits inside the Braeburn group, which generates more parent commentary on the older Braeburn School (Lavington) site.
Head of school
Tim Richards
Tim Richards is the Executive Principal and Site Administrator of Braeburn Garden Estate School. He has been with the school for over a decade, previously serving as the Primary Headteacher since July 2012. Richards holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) from the University of Brighton and the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH). He is a strong advocate for internationalism and a diverse school culture, overseeing a community of nearly 80 nationalities. Under his leadership, the school achieved an 'excellent' rating in both pupil achievement and personal development in the 2025 Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) report.
Accreditations
- Council of International Schools 01
- ISI 02
Academic results
- Total student enrolment 658
- Age range 2-18