<p>Choosing a school is one of the larger decisions a family makes, and the information available is mostly marketing. Here is a checklist built around things you can actually verify on a visit.</p>
<h2>Verify registration</h2> <p>Ask to see the school's registration with the Ministry of Education. A registered school can show you the documentation without hesitating. This matters for your child's records, their assessment numbers, and their progression to the next level.</p>
<h2>Ask about class sizes — and then count</h2> <p>Ask the number, then walk past the classrooms and see for yourself. CBC involves a lot of practical and project work, and that is difficult to deliver well in a very large class.</p>
<h2>Ask how they assess</h2> <p>A school running CBC properly can explain strands, sub-strands and performance levels without reaching for a brochure. If the answers come back in terms of position in class and mean scores, the school is running 8-4-4 with new paperwork.</p>
<h2>Ask what the fees actually cover</h2> <p>Get the fee structure in writing, per term, with what is included and what is charged separately — transport, lunch, boarding, activities, uniform, examinations. A school that publishes a clear structure is easier to budget for than one that sends a different figure each term.</p>
<h2>Ask about the transition points</h2> <p>Grade 7 and Grade 10 are where children are most likely to move schools. Ask what the school offers at those stages, and if it does not run junior or senior school itself, ask what happens to your child then.</p>
<h2>Consider the journey</h2> <p>A school forty-five minutes away in Nairobi traffic costs your child an hour and a half a day, every day. Across a year that is a substantial amount of sleep and homework time. Excellent nearby often beats outstanding far away.</p>
<h2>Talk to parents who are not on the tour</h2> <p>The school will introduce you to happy families. Find some yourself — at the gate, in the neighbourhood, online. Ask them what they would change.</p>
<h2>Questions to bring with you</h2> <ul> <li>May I see your Ministry registration?</li> <li>How many learners per class in the grade my child is joining?</li> <li>How do you report progress, and how often?</li> <li>What is the full fee structure per term, including everything?</li> <li>How do you handle a learner who is falling behind?</li> <li>What is the teacher turnover like?</li> </ul>