The History of St. Ignatius School
In the year 2000 the Jesuits of Rwanda began to discern about the ways to participate in the reconciliation process the government had launched after the 1994 genocide where over one million people were killed over the span of 91 days. There was a great need for reconstructing infrastructure and social structure. It quickly became clear that educating new generations of young Rwandans would be the best way to ensure a prosperous, peaceful and harmonious future. In 2003, the Jesuits received a 7 hectares piece of land in the heart of Kigali, the capital. It is on this plot of donated land construction of St. Ignatius School began in 2006. Nestled on the beautiful hills of Kibagabaga, we opened the doors of St. Ignatius Primary School in 2008.
Vision for St. Ignatius School
Steeped in Jesuit pedagogy, St. Ignatius School is now educating over 1,700 students in pre-school through twelfth grade. We warmly welcomed 185 pre-school students in the fall of 2022. In addition to the completion of St. Ignatius School, construction of our 11,000 square foot Science Laboratories are also complete. With an emphasis on STEM education, (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), we are teaching our high school students biology, chemistry and physics. One hundred percent of our students have graduated from middle school to high school. We project our retention rate to remain consistent with one hundred percent of our students graduating from high school. Our first class of graduating seniors was in the fall of 2017. We project our matriculation rate for college enrollment to remain in the 95th percentile. The majority of our students will attend local universities, with some traveling to Kenya and South Africa. A small minority of our students will attend college in Europe and North America.
At St. Ignatius School we are committed to Rwanda’s Millennium Development Goals of “Universal Education For All”. There is pressing need in Rwanda to educate their students at all levels, with special attention paid to the quality of education. At St. Ignatius School we are committed to learning outcomes, metrics and measurable achievements of all our students. In 2015, our school was ranked number two in the nation based on the performance at the national examination. Our students have become some of the best in the country since we started presenting them to the National Exam in 2011. Our vision is to graduate our young men and women prepared to enter college, be morally responsible citizens and men and women for others.
Sustainability
The strategic plan behind the growth of St. Ignatius School ensures long term academic and financial stability. Tuition levels have been carefully chosen to ensure affordability for our families as well as responsibility to our faculty and staff, the maintenance of our school and the care of our students. In the near future we will be establishing an endowment to secure scholarships for all students in need and ensure we are providing an education to all deserving students regardless of ability to pay.
