The School of St. Jude

The School of St Jude is a 100% charity-funded school providing free, high-quality education to around 1,800 of the poorest and brightest primary and secondary students in Arusha, Tanzania. Through a holistic approach and an extended national curriculum St Jude’s is helping shape community-focused leaders with strong skills and values.

Located across three campuses, St Jude's also provides boarding for over 1,000 students and employs almost 300 Tanzanian academic, administrative and maintenance staff. The school was founded in 2002 by Australian woman Gemma Sisia, on the belief that education is the best way to fight poverty. In a country where 92.5% of the adult population did not attend high school, the chance to receive a high-quality education is life-changing for the communities most disadvantaged families.

The school’s inaugural Form 6 graduation class finished in the top 10% in the country, with a 100% pass rate and more than 50% getting the highest mark of distinction. More than 80% of these graduates spent the year before university volunteering in their local communities through the Beyond St Jude’s Community Service Year, which is a chance for them to share the high quality education they received at St Jude’s with the wider community.