At Forestal SA Mixed Senior School in Lumakanda, Senior Principal David W. Makokha is building more than an institution of learning. He is nurturing a school community that brings together students from neighboring counties and different cultural backgrounds.
Located along the Kakamega-Uasin Gishu border, the school has become a shared space for families on both sides of the county boundary, with learners drawn mainly from Kakamega and Uasin Gishu and a smaller number from Nandi.
About 57 percent of the students come from Kakamega, most of them from the Luhya community, while 42 percent are from Uasin Gishu, which is predominantly Kalenjin, giving the school a distinctive mix of backgrounds and experiences.
For Makokha, the diversity is one of the school’s strengths. He says bringing students from different communities together allows them to learn from one another, build relationships, and focus on a shared goal through education.
The school currently has about 530 students, including approximately 400 learners under the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system. It sits on five acres and has continued to record growth in both enrollment and academic ambitions.
The institution posted a mean score of 4.5 in 2025 and recorded 28 direct-entry students. This year, 159 candidates are sitting the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), compared with 158 candidates last year.
The school is targeting a mean score of 6.0 and hopes to send more than 40 students to university.
Makokha also credited the school’s parents for creating a supportive learning environment. He said parents had paid about 68 percent of the required school fees, easing pressure on teachers and helping keep students in class.
“Our parents here are very supportive. We are happy to serve students from three counties, and we appreciate the trust that parents have placed in us. It has made our work as teachers easier because we are able to concentrate on teaching,” he told Western Kenya Times.
As KCSE examinations continue, Makokha urged students to remain focused and called on teachers and candidates to uphold honesty, integrity, and discipline throughout the examination period.
