The branch railway line to Nanyuki was completed in 1931 opening up the Mount Kenya region. It provided for rapid movement of goods, farm produce, livestock and human traffic into and out of the region.
Kagumo Primary School was established on January 3, 1933 at Gatitu, Nyeri County, at the present site of Kagumo Teachers Training College.
The school was started to train African artisans for the Native Industrial Training Depot at Kabete.
The land on which the school was built was granted by the colonial government through the intervention of the Local Native Council in the late 1920s.
The first buildings were constructed by the well-known businessman and philanthropist Ernest Carr.
As demand for African education continued to grow, the school was converted into a normal primary school offering classes up to intermediate level. In 1944, a teacher training college was started alongside the primary school with the likes of Alexander Gitau and Joseph Koinange as the first students.
They did not have to go very far for their practical teaching as the primary school was in the same compound.
Kagumo set high standards and often challenged Alliance, Mang’u and Maseno from the big league.
The institution set up a fully-fledged secondary section in 1949, but the teacher training section remained.
In 1951 Kagumo presented 18 students for the “O” Level examination and they all passed for admission to Makerere University College.
By 1960 the facilities at Gatitu had become overstreched due to rapid student growth and it became necessary to restructure the physical environment.
The teacher training college remained at the original site while the primary school moved to an adjacent site, changing its name to Kiambuiri Primary School.
The secondary section was relocated to a new site in Kiganjo donated by chief Wambugu wa Muiga but retained the name Kagumo High School under the leadership of Rev Mulheish.
Kagumo became a national school in 2012 with a student population of 1,200 and a teaching staff of 50.
Kagumo has a very active Old Boy’s Association, which is involved in various projects at the school under the leadership of Mr Francis Muhindi, chief executive of Manpower Services Ltd.
Other notable alumni include, Dr Dan Gikonyo, Dr Sam Thenya, Dr James Mwangi, Prof Godfrey Muriuki, Dr Gideon Muriuki, Prof Francis Gichaga, Mr Hassan Ahmed, Mr Richard Langat and Mr John Ndungu amongst others.
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