Friends School Kamusinga (FSK), popularly known as Kamu/Frischka, is a Kenyan Quaker national school established in 1956 and located in Kimilili, Bungoma County, Kenya. The school is located 400 kilometres from Kenya's capital city, Nairobi. It is annually ranked among the top schools nationwide in KCSE and has many notable alumni across business, creative arts, sports, engineering and politics.
Kamusinga is regarded as an academic and extra-curricular giant for its superior performance in national examinations of KCSE and in nationwide and East African regional extra-curricular competitions of field hockey, basketball, science congress, drama and music festival competitions over the years.
History
The school was established by Allan Bradley (a British Native who died aged 90 in February 2000) in 1956 as a transfer unit for Friends School Kaimosi from Kaimosi in Vihiga County. He is remembered by the school by holding an annual intra-school sports tournaments dubbed 'Allan Bradley's Day', held on 18 February of every year. The first Allan Bradley's Day Tournament was on 18 February 2006.
The school continues to maintain relations with members of the Allan Bradley family such as Ruth Bradley and Peter Bradley who find possible ways to support the school whenever possible.
Academics
National exam performance
The school produced the best 2006 K.C.S.E. (Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education) national candidate, Dickens Omanga.
Due to scrapping of school rankings nationwide by the Ministry of Education, the ranking of the school is not available since 2018. Based on performance comparison the school boasts production of the highest number of A, A- and B+ grades compared to most schools in the country, making it still one of the top schools in the country. In 2011, before ranking was abolished, the school ranked 12th nationwide. In 2016 it ranked 4th. In 2017 it emerged position 15. In 2021 it ranked 7th nationally.
Administration
The school is headed by Paul Weloba Wanyonyi, who took over the helm in January 2023; he was formerly the senior master of the school. The school was previously headed by Protus Ndombi from 2018 to January 2023. He retired in January 2023.
Notable former staff
1960s
Nicolas Guy Barnett was a British teaching member of staff between 1960 and 1961. He later became member of parliament of South Dorset between 1962 and 1964, and later Greenwich between 1971 and 1986 in the 42nd and 45th Parliament of the United Kingdom.
1990s to present
The school was previously headed by Simon Nabukwesi who headed the school from 1998 to January 2009, when he was appointed as Kenyan ambassador to Canada in a series of diplomatic appointments by Kenya's 3rd president Mwai Kibaki.
Before Nabukwesi's helm at the school, Christopher Khaemba was the principal from 1995 to 1998 before transferring to Alliance High School as principal, and thereafter to African Leadership Academy as the school's founding dean in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is currently the director and co-founder of the Nova Pioneer Academies, which operates in Kenya and South Africa.
Departments
The school comprises ten departments that oversee the school programs and curricular activities. These are the Examination Department, Technical Department, Sciences Department, Math Department, Swahili & Other Languages Departments, English & Libraries Department, Games Department, Boarding Department, School Worship Program Department, and Guidance & Counselling Department.
The heads of each department are appointed by the Teachers Service Commission.
Board of Governors
The school has a board of governors (B.O.G.) and Parents Teachers Association (P.T.A.) organs that assist the school administration in leadership and management.
Student admission
Every year, 300-600 students are selected based on academic merit and quota as per the Kenyan standard education policy. Academic merit is based on performance on the K.C.P.E. (Kenya Certificate of Primary Education) exams. Its quota system ensures that the school admits boys from every county in the country, though with bias to students from public schools as the current education policy requires.
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.