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Alliance High School students during the schools Centenary Celebration in Kikuyu on March 1, 2026. The event marked 100 years since the founding of the institution.
Nothing beats the pride with which former Alliance High School students speak about the place that transformed them from boys to men. So much so, that they became the butt of many a joke for their tendency to announce their alma mater to all and sundry given the slightest chance.
The chosen fewwho schooled at Bush, as Alliance High School is fondly known, still remember the school prayer by heart. They carry along many other things from their years at the Bush. To Busherians, there are only two schools. The Alliance High School (AHS) and the rest.
AHS was established in 1926 by the Alliance of Protestant Missions. It was modeled as a centre for advanced African education during the colonial period.
President William Ruto, National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah, Africa Inland Church (AIC) Kenya Bishop Abraham Mulwa, among other leaders, during the Alliance High School Centenary Celebration in Kikuyu on March 1, 2026.
The name “Alliance” itself reflected the coming together of different missions toward a common educational goal. At the time, educational opportunities for Africans were limited, and Alliance High School became one of the first institutions to provide formal secondary education to African students in Kenya.
Exactly 100 years ago, three African students reported to AHS to start their secondary education, Chief Principle Kamau Chomba narrated during the centenary celebrations on Sunday, March 1.
By the end of that year, there were 27 students in that class. The population has grown over time and now stands at 1,850, Mr Chomba said. There were two teachers at the time, now the school has 106 teachers.
“We admitted 754 Grade 10 learners,” Mr Chomba told students, teachers and other guests who included old boys and parents during the Sunday Founders' Day commemoration. President William Ruto was the chief guest. Students and teachers from the AHS sister school, Alliance Girls' High School, were also in attendance.
Ever since its founding, the AHS has maintained a track record as one of the best-performing high schools in the country academically, always ranking among the top 10 nationally every year.
The 2011 KCSE performance was exceptional. AHS emerged top in the country. In that same year, the school had more than 100 students scoring a mean grade of A in the national exams.
Over the years, Alliance High School has produced distinguished scholars, civil servants, academics and professionals across multiple sectors in Kenya and beyond. Among its notable alumni are Senate Speaker Amason Kingi, Parliament Majority Leader and Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichungwah, Supreme Court Judge Lenaola, and former Attorney-General Amos Wako who were all present, among many others.
Alliance High School takes pride in not having any written set of school rules.
“The school culture moulds one to use his common sense to do what they intend to,” declares its website.
President William Ruto (centre) joins Basic Education PS Julius Bitok, Alliance High School Captain Ethan Muraya and church leaders in cutting a cake during the Alliance High School Centenary Celebration at the school in Kikuyu on March 1, 2026, marking 100 years of academic excellence and national impact.
Every new student is oriented to the school through a guardian, usually a Form Two student who does what passes on knowledge taught to him in the previous year, and guides the new student to understand the history of the school, school tenets and all that makes up bush.
Very few institutions are privileged to mark 100 years of continuous existence, President Ruto remarked on Sunday when he attended the centenary celebrations, adding that fewer still do so while remaining faithful to their founding ideals.
“Alliance High School stands tall among that rare and distinguished company,” Dr Ruto said.
“Across the world, the institutions that endure — those that outlast leaders, outlast generations, and outlast the fleeting trends of the day — share a defining trait: They are anchored in values that do not bend with every passing season.”
Merit and choice
Every year, according to the official AHS website, hundreds of students are chosen based on academic merit and choice, in accordance with the Ministry of Education policy. Performance in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations determines admission.
“Its quota system ensures that the school admits boys from every county in the country. Students are admitted on a need-blind basis. At any given time, there are needy students whose tuition and boarding fees are paid by parties other than their parents or guardians. This is thanks to the school’s strong alumni network (the Old Boys Club) as well as the large number of friends the school has around the world,” the website reads.
A century after its founding, Alliance High School remains more than just a school. It is a symbol of excellence, opportunity and the enduring power of education to transform lives and build nations.
It was at Bush that Amason Kingi, the Speaker of the Senate of Kenya and an alumnus of Alliance High School, first wore shoes. It was also here, he told attendees on Sunday to their amusement, that he learnt the idea of pen-palling and how to interact with the opposite gender.
“As we look ahead to the next century, may this great institution continue to remind us, and to prove, that what is built on enduring values can indeed stand the test of time,” President Ruto urged. “And may you all live up to the school motto: Strong to Serve.”
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