Senior Schools in Machakos County: Full List by Cluster and Sub-County

The Ministry of Education’s senior schools list (June 2025) names 377 public senior schools in Machakos County, across 9 sub-counties. Mwala has the most, with 71, while Athi-River has the fewest at 17. Day schools dominate: 295 of the 377 (78%) are C4 day schools, so most learners here will have a free public day option close to home.

Its 5 C1 national schools: Kathiani Girls School, Machakos Boys, Machakos Girls’ High School, Machakos Secondary School for the Deaf and Tala High School. By cluster the county has 5 C1, 19 C2, 58 C3 and 295 C4 schools. 321 are mixed, 31 are girls’ schools and 25 are boys’ schools.

Senior Schools in Machakos by Sub-County

Practical Tips for Machakos Families

• 2 of Machakos’s sub-counties (Athi-River, Yatta) have no C1 or C2 school, so families there who want those clusters will be looking at boarding schools in other sub-counties or counties.
• Among C1 and C2 schools here, 13 are girls-only and 9 are boys-only. Girls have more single-sex choices at this level than boys.
• If you want a mixed boarding school, the list has 33 in Machakos, including AIC Mbembani Central Secondary School, Kalama Secondary School and Kimutwa Secondary School.
• For learners with special needs, Machakos has 1 special needs school: Machakos Secondary School for the Deaf.
• 2 schools in Machakos are listed as integrated, taking learners with disabilities alongside others: Kyumbi Secondary School and D.E.B Kangundo Intergrated Secondary School.
• Mwala has the most C4 day schools in Machakos (54), so learners there have the widest choice of nearby day schools.
• With 295 C4 day schools, list your realistic nearby day school among the 12 choices as a safe option, especially in Mwala, which has the widest choice.

How Grade 10 Selection Works for Machakos Learners

Your child ranks 12 schools across the four clusters, a rule the Ministry announced on 21 December 2025. In Machakos that means mixing some of the 82 C1–C3 boarding schools with the 295 C4 day schools, rather than listing only the best-known names. KJSEA counts for 60% of the placement score, with KPSEA and the Grade 7–8 school assessments at 20% each. Because a school can only place your child in a pathway it actually runs, and the list for Machakos doesn’t record pathways, check with the school directly. Useful next steps: CBC pathways explained, the KJSEA grade calculator and our placement guide.

Fees at Machakos Senior Schools

For the 78% of Machakos schools that are day schools, parents pay no tuition under Gazette Notice 1449 of 2026. The 82 schools that board can charge parents at most KSh 53,554 or KSh 40,535 a year, by ceiling. The notice does not name schools, so ask for the fee structure on letterhead. See senior school fees 2026.

Full List of Machakos Senior Schools by Cluster

C1 (national) Schools in Machakos (5)

C2 (extra-county type) Schools in Machakos (19)

C3 (county type) Schools in Machakos (58)

C4 (sub-county day) Schools in Machakos (295)

Revising for KJSEA now? Our KJSEA revision guide and practice papers help Grade 9 learners prepare. Search all Machakos schools in the school finder or go back to senior schools in Kenya.

Source: Ministry of Education, Senior Schools in Kenya (June 2025). Names tidied for readability.