The school has a staff of about 28 teachers and a similar number of support personnel.
The school was founded by the Patrician Brothers, Irish missionaries to Kenya in 1961, following the Mau Mau uprising,[2] when there were only two other secondary schools for African boys north of Naivasha.
[3] Brother Colm O'Connell of Ireland came to Iten in 1976 expecting to stay just three months teaching geography but has remained there ever since.
The surrounding town of Iten, with a population of about 4,000, is said to house as many as 500 athletes, a high altitude training camp, and many people related to the sport.
The school also has won the national volleyball championship 17 times, 15 in a row.