Name:Riara Group of Schools

Industry: Education Management

Website: http://riaraschools.ac.ke/

Description: The origins of The Riara Group of Schools go back to the Balmoral Kindergarten which existed on Riara Road and was owned by an English lady before Kenya’s Independence. The Balmoral Kindergarten was for expatriate children only. The name Balmoral came from Balmoral Road which later changed to Riara Road in 1974. The Gachukia’s acquired The Riara road property in 1974. The Kindergarten then had about 20 children, including European, Israelis and some Japanese children. There were no African children as during the colonial period Africans would not have been allowed into the school. In 1974 when the Gachukia’s took over the property, it comprised a residential house and the Kindergarten. The Gachukia’s still live in the same house in the school compound. At that time the Kindergarten used the old section of what is today the sound studio next to the school dining hall and the three classrooms which are today the blue class, the red class and the yellow class. The sandpit was where the school kitchen now stands. Since 1974 a lot of changes have taken place. The name of the school was changed from Balmoral to Riara and opened its doors to more African children. Many of the expatriate communities in Nairobi including the Japanese have now started their own schools. The quality of the education provided at The Riara Kindergarten meant that when The Riara children went to Primary Schools, they were often put in std 2 because they had already covered std 1 work. In 1984 three graduates from Riara Kindergarten decided they wanted to stay on at Riara. This is how The Riara Primary School was started. The first class occupied the house next door which was rented from the East African Wildlife Society. We have since moved to the new Primary School building with all the facilities including the new dining hall and kitchen, the new library and music rooms. Towards the end of 1996 Riara introduced computer classes. Many parents have commented on the excellent layout of our computer centers in the various schools. We have installed the latest computers which are connected to the Internet in all our schools. This enables Riara Schools to access material and information from many parts of the world. At Riara we aim at creating a rich and varied environment within which children can learn with ease. The relationship between pupils and teachers at Riara is based on the principle that: pupils should respect teachers but never fear them.