Rosslyn Academy
Encyclopedia
Rosslyn Academy is a private Christian school in Nairobi
, Kenya
. It was founded in 1967. It is an international, coed, day school with a North American curriculum and classes from Kindergarten to twelfth grade. Enrollment is approximately 510, with a senior graduating class ranging from 35-50 each year. Approxmiately 40% of the students are American, and more than 35 nationalities are represented in the school. Most of its teachers are North American certified. It is located in the northwestern outskirts of Nairobi, in Gigiri, a safe location of Nairobi near the United States Embassy and the United Nations Headquarters for Africa
.
The site was formerly part of a coffee plantation.
The school was originally founded as Mara Hills academy in northern Tanzania
in the 1940s, as a one room school for the children of Mennonite
missionaries. The school moved to its current location in 1967, and opened a boarding facility offering K-8 education. The school remained a boarding school into the 1980s when the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention
(now the International Mission Board
) invested in the school to provide an American education for the children of its missionaries residing in the Nairobi area. This was also a critical financial move in the history of the school as it saved it from financial insolvency. In the early 1990s the Assemblies of God
missionary sending agency also purchased a stake in the school. The school is currently jointly owned by the International Mission Board (by proxy through the Baptist Mission of Kenya), the Eastern Mennonite Mission and the Assemblies of God.
The school remained strictly a K-8 school until the 1990s. Most of the students transferred to Rift Valley Academy
upon entering ninth grade. However, the school gradually added a high school program and graduated its first senior class in 1991. Today the school offers many high school courses in the social sciences, natural sciences and mathematics, and literature and language. Rosslyn Academy also teaches a number of Advanced Placement AP
courses ranging from physics and biology to foreign language.
The school is also now known for its extra-curricular sports program. The Rosslyn Eagles consistently place in the top of their leagues in both men's and women's varsity and junior varsity sports. The inter-schools athletic program includes men's and women's football (soccer), basketball, volleyball, field hockey, and track and field. Additionally, the men participate in an interschool rugby program. The Eagles' traditional rivals are the other large international schools in Kenya, namely the Rift Valley Academy
Buffalos and the International School of Kenya
Lions.
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. It was founded in 1967. It is an international, coed, day school with a North American curriculum and classes from Kindergarten to twelfth grade. Enrollment is approximately 510, with a senior graduating class ranging from 35-50 each year. Approxmiately 40% of the students are American, and more than 35 nationalities are represented in the school. Most of its teachers are North American certified. It is located in the northwestern outskirts of Nairobi, in Gigiri, a safe location of Nairobi near the United States Embassy and the United Nations Headquarters for Africa
United Nations Office at Nairobi
The United Nations Office at Nairobi is one of the four major UN office sites where several different UN agencies have a joint presence. The office complex is located in Nairobi, Kenya...
.
The site was formerly part of a coffee plantation.
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
in the 1940s, as a one room school for the children of Mennonite
Mennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
missionaries. The school moved to its current location in 1967, and opened a boarding facility offering K-8 education. The school remained a boarding school into the 1980s when the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
(now the International Mission Board
International Mission Board
The International Mission Board is a missionary sending agency affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention which operates in virtually every nation except the United States and Canada...
) invested in the school to provide an American education for the children of its missionaries residing in the Nairobi area. This was also a critical financial move in the history of the school as it saved it from financial insolvency. In the early 1990s the Assemblies of God
Assemblies of God
The Assemblies of God , officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 140 autonomous but loosely-associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination...
missionary sending agency also purchased a stake in the school. The school is currently jointly owned by the International Mission Board (by proxy through the Baptist Mission of Kenya), the Eastern Mennonite Mission and the Assemblies of God.
The school remained strictly a K-8 school until the 1990s. Most of the students transferred to Rift Valley Academy
Rift Valley Academy
Rift Valley Academy is a Christian boarding school located in Kijabe, Kenya, founded in 1906 by Charles Hurlburt.-Early years:Having met with Hurlburt in the White House in 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt visited Kijabe shortly after leaving office four years later...
upon entering ninth grade. However, the school gradually added a high school program and graduated its first senior class in 1991. Today the school offers many high school courses in the social sciences, natural sciences and mathematics, and literature and language. Rosslyn Academy also teaches a number of Advanced Placement AP
Advanced Placement Program
The Advanced Placement program is a curriculum in the United States and Canada sponsored by the College Board which offers standardized courses to high school students that are generally recognized to be equivalent to undergraduate courses in college...
courses ranging from physics and biology to foreign language.
The school is also now known for its extra-curricular sports program. The Rosslyn Eagles consistently place in the top of their leagues in both men's and women's varsity and junior varsity sports. The inter-schools athletic program includes men's and women's football (soccer), basketball, volleyball, field hockey, and track and field. Additionally, the men participate in an interschool rugby program. The Eagles' traditional rivals are the other large international schools in Kenya, namely the Rift Valley Academy
Rift Valley Academy
Rift Valley Academy is a Christian boarding school located in Kijabe, Kenya, founded in 1906 by Charles Hurlburt.-Early years:Having met with Hurlburt in the White House in 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt visited Kijabe shortly after leaving office four years later...
Buffalos and the International School of Kenya
International School of Kenya
The International School of Kenya , is an international school for pre-kindergarten to grade 12 located on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya. It was established in 1976 and has a 25 hectare campus. Students can study for a North American High school diploma or the International Baccalaureate Diploma...
Lions.