Opening its doors in 2010, Aberdere Ranges Primary School (ARPS) was So They Can’s founding and flagship project. To this day, it remains a school community that holds a special place across our global community. ARPS is the only project where we built and established an entirely new government school, made possible through a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Kenya, for internally displaced Kenyan children. From day one, ARPS has also played a formative role in shaping our approach where we directly partner with existing government schools and actively embed within national education systems.

Ensuring sustainability: ARPS in 2023

Between 2010 and December 2023, 1,790 children had accessed quality primary education at ARPS. 2023 also marked the school’s transition to operate independently, our first partner school to do so. 
At this point of exit, we measured the school’s progress against the pillars of our Sustainable Schools Framework to ensure it was ready to become “sustained” and exited from external support. What we found was a testament to the strength of our Education Program:

1) There were 1,000+ students (51% girls) enrolled from pre-primary to Standard 8.

2) There was an effective School Management Committee (SMC) who could competently use resources and engage with school management and governance.

3) There was significant parental engagement. A Parents’ Committee had been successfully established, and was actively engaging in the school’s operations, with increased understanding of child rights and protection.

4) There was remarkable student success, including high levels of attendance, retention (85%) and learning. There was gender parity in enrolment, and 71% scored 250+ in the Kenyan Certificate in Primary Education in 2023.

5) The school’s infrastructure was safe, inclusive and established. There were 29 classrooms, 13 administration facilities, a water borehole and community water kiosk supported by So They Can.

Enduring success: ARPS in 2026

Fast forward to two years later, our post-exit monitoring has further revealed that ARPS is continuing to excel beyond So They Can’s support.

Two years after sustaining, the 2025 Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) and Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) results demonstrate that ARPS is well above the targets stipulated in our sustained school definition, and that school enrolment continued to grow in 2025 and 2026.

The percentage of Grade 6 pupils “Approaching Expectations Or Above” in the national KPSEA exam superseded our sustained school definition target of 60%. Instead, 100% of ARPS students in 2025 approached or went above their learning expectations.

The percentage of Grade 9 pupils “Meeting Expectations Or Above” in the national KJSEA exam superseded our sustained school definition target of 50%. Instead, 97% of ARPS students in 2025 met expectations or went above their learning expectations.

Enrolment has also continued to grow. In 2023, school enrolment was 1,068 and is now 1,285 in 2026.

Ultimately, ARPS has served as the blueprint for our Sustainable School Development Framework, and reflects our ongoing commitment to MEL and continuously improving the effectiveness of our model. Through our ARPS journey, we realised that it was more efficient and effective to build the capacity of existing government schools in the areas where we work. It also adheres to the principles of local leadership and true localisation in international development.

To learn more about our Sustainability Model read our Sustainability Executive Summary here.