History and Background of the School

ACK Language and Orientation school is the oldest and most authentic Language school in Kenya.

The ACK Language and Orientation School, Nairobi is the oldest language school in Kenya established by the Church Missionary Society (CMS) of England. It was started in 1909 as a missionary outreach centre. It served a special purpose in providing missionaries of different denominations, voluntary agencies and bodies not directly under the Church with background information about the areas they were destined to serve by giving them basic languages for ease of communicating with the locals. It served the entire Eastern Africa region.

The school was officialy registered in 1965 by the Church Missionary Society (CMS), of England for the benefit of denominations, voluntary agencies or bodies and individual persons wishing to take advantages of its facilities for language study, cross cultural training and all suitable form of orientation.

It was established as a missionary resource centre that housed information on church outreach within the Eastern Africa particularly among the diverse ethnic groups. The early missionaries were committed to studying the local languages to enhance their communication skills with the locals. The language school provided this service.

In 1965, the centre was structured into a school status. It was now able to formally offer curriculum of various languages, with enriched Cross Cultural Training and Orientation. It served missionaries in the respective Anglican Churches of the Provinces of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan and Ethiopia. Other agencies serving in the region were also served by the school. Even individuals started using the facilities to learn various languages.

On March 24th 1972 the Standing Committee of the Church Province of Kenya Synod considered it desirable and resolved that the administration of the school be transferred to the Province and the trusteeship of its property was vested in the Church Commissioners for Kenya.

Learning with Us

In today’s fast-paced and rapidly-changing world, effective communication is more important than ever, and knowledge of another language as a means of local or international communication is of paramount importance.

Local and International Travel has become a permanent and ever-growing feature of modern society and today traditional language programmes form only part of a complex range of programmes required by groups and individuals as a way of achieving personal, educational or professional goals.

Mobility involving cultural exchanges among countries worldwide has become an integral part of professional development in a way that couldn't have been imagined a few years ago.

Registration Status

The school is fully registered and complies with all requirements by the Government of Kenya.