Overview
Activities
We believe Music and Drama should be enjoyed as well as being key aspects of every child’s holistic development and at BGE both are taught as curriculum subjects and have extracurricular programmes in place to support this, too. Our music department has a team of full-time peripatetic tutors that teach students drums, violin, trumpet, flute, guitar, piano & voce. A large number of students have individual, private lessons.
Students also sit the ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) music exams and regularly perform in teatime concerts as well as productions and school events. Just as importantly, pupils in each section of the school have opportunities to take part in drama productions from the Early Years Nativity play to the larger, main Primary and Secondary productions.
All students go on annual residential school trips to various locations in Kenya; these have a wide variety of activities scheduled including scuba diving, white water rafting, rock climbing, trekking and mountain climbing. Students will also have the opportunity of travelling further afield on overseas trips if they desire; skiing, sports tours and cultural trips amongst others.
Arts and crafts, Model United Nations, chess, debating, ICT, & Community Service are but some of the other activities on offer as part of the broader extra - curricular activities programme at BGE; something that we are very proud of.
Facilities
Located on a tranquil 32-acre site, Braeburn Garden Estate sits 8 kilometres northeast of the centre of Nairobi in the leafy suburbs of Garden Estate, just far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the city to feel rural yet close enough to enjoy the amenities of a large, diverse city.
Opened in 1982 the school has been extensively developed over the years and boasts a range of facilities making BGE one of East Africa’s finest International Schools. With large playing fields, a training swimming pool for the young pupils, a 25m pool, outdoor basketball and tennis courts, large sports hall, dance studio, gym, two squash courts, boarding facilities, well-equipped classrooms, libraries, dining areas and playgrounds, we are able to challenge, enthuse and excite our student body.
We feel very fortunate that the school environment is universally admired and enjoyed by everyone associated with the school.
Sporting Opportunities
Sport is an integral part of our culture at BGE and all students are expected to participate in the sports programmes offered. Playing sport builds friendships, improves physical fitness, introduces new skills and creates opportunities to develop as part of a team. Ultimately, our aim is to instil a love of physical activity in order that pupils continue enjoying sport into their adult years.
BGE students are exposed to a wide range of sports. All students can play football, hockey, basketball, volleyball, squash, tennis and also swim. Boys will also have the opportunity to play cricket and rugby whilst girls will also play rounders and netball; both play field hockey. Opportunities are created for the eldest students to take part in non-competitive sport such as yoga, zumba, CrossFit, dance and personal fitness.
Our extensive range of co-curricular activities supports our main sports programmes giving children the opportunities to learn golf, karate and taekwondo.
As a member of the KAIIS (Kenya Association of Independent International Schools) we participate extensively in inter-school sport offering our students high quality competitive sport. Just as important as learning to hone skills and tactics to be competitive in team games is the need to develop a sense of fair play, camaraderie and good sportsmanship.
Our Community
Our school community binds us together and we actively encourage participation from parents in everything that we do. While this is naturally associated with the pupils that we teach, there is more to our school community than this. Our equivalent to a PTA is group called ‘FROGS’ (Friends of Garden Estate Schools) who coordinate a range of social get togethers for parents, staff and children and events for just parents and staff, too. From family fun days at Karura Forest to the annual dinner and dance, these opportunities bring us all closer together. The FROGS also host weekly coffee mornings each Friday where all parents are welcome to enjoy each other’s company and perhaps make a friend for life.
Termly ‘Forum’ meetings are also scheduled where the Headteachers at the site answer general queries from the parental body. These are also opportunities to share longer term developments within the site in an open and straight forward manner.
As a fortunate and privileged group, we have a responsibility to give back to the local community. We are all proud of our associations with a number of key charities whom we have supported through fund raising events, which often reach several hundreds of thousands of shillings each year. We belief is, the more you put in, the more you get out.
Home-School Partnership
At Braeburn we actively encourage an open and honest home-school partnership. Our home-school diaries, newsletters, and parents’ evenings help us to maintain a healthy relationship with the Braeburn community.
Transport
Children at BGE can take advantage of our fleet of yellow school buses allowing most of Nairobi to be covered by a convenient route to school. We also offer a late bus service to enable more children to participate in after school activities. An optional door-to-door service is also available.
Uniform
All BGE students are required to wear a uniform both for class-based lessons and for Games and Physical Education (PE). Other compulsory items include shin pads for all pupils in Years 3 and above (for both hockey and football) and gum shields (for hockey and for boys playing rugby).
