An international day and boarding school for ages 2-18 in Lusaka, Zambia
Our History

Our History

Baobab College was established in 1994 as an inclusive school for children of all ages and abilities. The Articles of Association established the school as a Public Benefit Company limited by guarantee i.e. a ‘not for profit’ school which puts children and education above financial considerations.

All monies raised from school fees were used to develop the school and from its relatively humble beginnings in a house in Roma, the school quickly grew into a thriving community. In 1999, Baobab College moved to its new green field site of 44 hectares in Lilayi which is the beautiful, green and tranquil environment we enjoy today.

The expansive campus has allowed for development of facilities, and specialist rooms have been added along the way, ensuring that Baobab children access a broad and balanced curriculum.

From its very beginnings, Baobab adopted a school uniform and has espoused traditional values of respect, integrity and care for our community. In doing so it set standards of behaviour for other schools to follow.

The British National curriculum was adopted as an internationally recognised curriculum which not only gave a clear structure for teaching and learning, it also provided global benchmarks against which the school’s progress could be monitored and measured. Our examination results have shown improvement year on year and our former students can be found in some of the world’s top universities.

The school continues to grow and flourish. We now have 650 students in school and we remain a 2 form entry school with class sizes capped at 25.  It is not our intention to move to three form entry in the foreseeable future.  

  • 1993: Baobab Trust School registered as an educational institution
  • 19th January 1994: Baobab Trust School opened at 235 Kazungula Road.
  • Founder Board members: Guy Blachford, Jumbo van Blerk, Heather Chalcraft, Alfie Francis, Paul Golson, Klaske Hiemstra, Nick Lostrom
  • 34 children and 3 teachers: Rosemary Kirby (Headteacher), Beryl Roberts, Rosni Karanjia; Administrator: Mrs. Mavis Jackman
  • 1994: Cambridge Accreditation awarded.
  • 1995: 100 pupils and 8 teachers.
  • 1996: More classrooms built and a small swimming pool added.
  • 1997: 17 pupils in Grades 7 and 9.
  • Boarding facilities opened,  4 boys in boarding
  • Baobab pre-school started
  • Lin Williams appointed Head of Baobab Primary and Secondary Schools.
  • Grades 8, 10 and 11 opened
  • School calendar changed to August start
  • Decision to build new school at van Blerk's farm in Lilayi
  • February, Building classrooms started.
  • September whole school moved to Lilayi. 
  • 2000: September 374 children :
  • Early Learning 23 pupils; Reception 35; G 1 -6: 181; Secondary 124 and A level 11.
  • An international swimming standard short course pool added
  • 2001: British National Curriculum introduced
  • 2005: Baobab granted Cambridge International Fellowship Centre  status for exceeding Cambridge Accreditation standards.
  • 2009: Mrs Jan Lamb appointed Principal
  • 2009-2011: Upgrades and refurbishments of IT infrastructure, Campus and Hostels
  • 2010: Numbers grow to 450 students
  • 2012: Sports facilities and workshops added
  • Student numbers rise to 600, new car park added
  • 2013: New offices, class rooms and extension to examination hall
  • 2014: Student numbers increase to 650 almost at maximum capacity
  • Major overhaul of school policies ensuring compliance with national and international regulations
  • 2015: Administration building completed
  • 2016: Addition of food science room, planning started for new library
  • 2017: Plans developed for a new library and school hall
  • 2018: New library completed, work starts on new school hall
  • 2018: Awarded Cambridge International Professional Development Centre status
  • 2019: Celebrated 25 years of Baobab College with the official opening of the new library.
  • Mrs. Ruth Noble appointed Principal. 
  • 2020: Baobab College invests in IT infrastructure to deliver hybrid learning in school and online during Covid Pandemic.
  • The school supports the community by reducing fees by 10% in August 2020 and increasing investment in Scholarships & Bursaries.
  • 2021: Baobab students achieve best ever IGCSE, AS & A Level results for the school, with over 80% A*-C grades. Baobab alumni are now represented at universities in every Continent across the globe (except Antarctica!)