Term 2 Back-to-School Kenya 2026 — The Complete Parent Checklist

Term 2 of the 2026 academic year opens on Monday, 27 April 2026 across Kenya. If you are a parent, that gives you roughly 13 days from when this guide publishes to get your child fully ready. This is the checklist we'd give our own families.

We will keep it practical — no filler. Six sections: dates, money, uniforms, supplies, mindset, and the week-before countdown.

1. The 2026 Term 2 calendar — the only dates that actually matter

• Term 2 opens: Monday, 27 April 2026
• Mid-term break: typically a long weekend in early June (schools publish their specific dates in Week 1)
• Term 2 closes: Friday, 31 July 2026
• Term 3 opens: Monday, 24 August 2026
• National exam window (KSSEA, KJSEA, KPSEA, KPLEA): 26 October – 20 November 2026

Pin these to the fridge. Most family crises around school this year will trace back to a parent who lost track of one of these dates.

2. Fees — what to pay, where, and when

Kenya's 2026 fee landscape is a moving target. Here's what you can count on:

• Public primary (Grade 1-6): Free tuition under the Free Primary Education policy. You still pay for activity levies, meals, and supplies.
• Public junior secondary (Grade 7-9): Covered under capitation, but many schools ask for additional levies for lunch, boarding (where applicable), and uniforms.
• Public senior secondary (Grade 10-12): Day schools typically KSH 10,000-30,000 per term. Boarding KSH 45,000-55,000 per term depending on category (national / extra-county / county).
• Private schools: Highly variable — ask your bursar for an itemised fee structure for Term 2 specifically.

The fee-day survival rule: never pay the full amount on Day 1. Pay in the first week AT the school bursar's office or through the school's verified M-Pesa Paybill. Get a receipt (paper AND M-Pesa SMS) for every single shilling. Keep receipts until the end of the year. Lost receipts = lost money.

3. Uniforms — what to actually buy and what to skip

Most families overspend on uniforms in Term 2 because they panic-replace everything in the first week. Don't. Most items still have life in them.

Inspect before you shop:

• Sweater — still fits? No holes? Keep.
• Shirts / blouses — cuff and collar stains can be removed with a soak. Replace only if the child has outgrown them (sleeves end 5cm+ above the wrist) or there are visible holes.
• Skirt / trousers — if the waistband still closes, keep them. Alterations at a local tailor are cheaper than new.
• Shoes — check soles. Are they still grippy? If yes, polish + new laces and you're done.
• PE kit — this is usually the item that actually needs replacing. Kids destroy PE kits.

When you do buy new: size up by one notch. Kenyan kids grow fast — buy for the end of the term, not the start.

4. Supplies — the CBC (now CBE) specific list by grade

CBC / CBE emphasises practical activities, which means more "stuff" than under 8-4-4. Here's what your child actually needs versus what they'll ask for:

Grade 1-3 (Lower Primary)

• 2 exercise books per learning area (English, Kiswahili, Maths, Environmental Activities, Hygiene & Nutrition, CRE/IRE, Movement & Creative)
• Coloured pencils + sharpener + eraser
• Crayons (washable)
• Simple manila file for CBA portfolio work
• Plain A4 paper — 20 sheets

Grade 4-6 (Upper Primary)

• 3 exercise books per subject (English, Kiswahili, Maths, Science & Tech, Social Studies, Agriculture, Home Science, CRE/IRE, Creative Arts, PE)
• Geometrical set (ruler, compass, protractor, set squares)
• Dictionary (English + Kiswahili where affordable)
• Calculator — basic scientific (from Grade 5)
• Portfolio folder for CBA evidence

Grade 7-9 (Junior Secondary)

• 4 exercise books per core subject; 2 per optional subject
• Full scientific calculator (Casio fx-82 class or equivalent)
• Graph books (2x)
• Manila folders for each subject's CBA portfolio
• Set of coloured pens for note-taking
• Storage box or satchel strong enough for 10+ books plus lunch

Grade 10-12 (Senior Secondary)

• Subject-specific stationery depends on your child's chosen pathway (STEM, Arts & Sports, Social Sciences, Languages)
• STEM pathway: scientific calculator, graph books, lab coat if sciences practicals
• Arts & Sports: art supplies, sports kit
• Cambridge IGCSE learners: past papers (available on cbcedukenya.com) and the official syllabus printed out

5. Revision — the 13 days before Term 2

Don't let them scroll for 13 days. Don't cram them for 13 days either. The middle path:

• 1 hour of Term 1 review per day, focused on ONE weak subject
• 1 hour of preview reading for Term 2 — ask the teacher or check the KICD curriculum design for the upcoming strands
• Rest. Kids who come back tired underperform in Week 1.

If you need ready-made revision materials, our Holiday Revision Packs cover every subject per grade in one PDF for KSH 40 per grade. Pay via M-Pesa (Till 5310731), download instantly.

6. The week-before countdown — 7 days out

• Day 7: Fee payment confirmed. Receipt saved. SMS forwarded to your second phone.
• Day 6: Uniform inspection. Replace what's genuinely broken.
• Day 5: Supplies list completed. Exercise books labelled with child's name + grade + subject.
• Day 4: Shoes polished. Name tags sewn into uniforms (especially for boarders).
• Day 3: Haircut / hair done, neat to school standards.
• Day 2: Pack everything. Weigh the bag. If it's over 4kg for a lower-primary learner, something is wrong.
• Day 1 (Sunday, 26 April): Early bedtime. Lunch prepped. Alarm set.

7. The emotional bit, because schools forget it

After a holiday, most Kenyan kids have anxiety about the new term — particularly Grade 7, Grade 9 (KJSEA year), and Grade 10 (first year of Senior School). A 15-minute conversation the night before Term 2 opens, where you ask three questions, will do more than any new uniform:

1. "What's one thing you're looking forward to about Term 2?"
2. "What's one thing you're a bit worried about?"
3. "What would help you most from me this term?"

Listen. Don't rush to fix. The listening is the fix.

Bottom line

Term 2 2026 starts 27 April. You have 13 days. Fees → uniform → supplies → revision → mindset. Don't overspend. Don't over-buy. Don't ignore the kid's head.

Need materials for Term 2? Browse our grade-specific notes, exams, schemes and lesson plans — Term 1 covered, Term 2 materials arriving weekly from 20 April. Subscribe to our WhatsApp community to be alerted when each grade's Term 2 pack lands.

Sources: Ministry of Education Kenya 2026 school calendar (published dates), KNEC exam window announcements, CBC Edu Kenya research on typical 2026 public and private school fee ranges.