Uganda’s St Kizito High School shortlisted for World’s Best School Prize

St Kizito High School in Namugongo has been named among the Top 10 schools shortlisted for the World’s Best School Prizes 2026, placing Uganda on the global education stage.

The independent secondary school was shortlisted in the Overcoming Adversity category for its hands-on learning model that teaches students how to turn waste into useful and income-generating products.

The World’s Best School Prizes were founded by T4 Education in 2022 after the COVID-19 pandemic to recognise schools that are transforming lives in classrooms and communities. The awards have been described as the “World Cup for Schools” and are considered among the most prestigious global education prizes.

St Kizito High School was recognised for using waste management as a learning and enterprise opportunity in Namugongo, a major religious pilgrimage area that attracts thousands of visitors.

The large number of visitors has long created waste-related environmental and health challenges for the local community.

Instead of treating waste only as a disposal problem, the school built a sustainability-led model that equips students with practical skills.

Learners work in clubs under teacher supervision to convert waste into usable products and business ideas.

The student-led green circular projects run four days a week. They include making carbonised briquettes from bio-waste, producing livestock feed from food waste, composting for bio-fertilisers and running hydroponic farming systems.

The school also uses an experiential and project-based learning approach. Students visit markets, forests and slums before returning to class to study community problems and design practical solutions.

The model also includes competitions, peer-led activities and creative projects that promote behaviour change.

According to the organisers, the school’s projects have reduced fuel costs by 25 percent and cut the need for firewood, saving between 12 and 70 tonnes of trees. They have also reduced respiratory complications among kitchen staff.

Livestock feed production has reduced farming costs by up to 80 percent, while hydroponic and urban farming projects now supply most of the school’s vegetables. More than 50 learners support their tuition using green skills acquired at school, while more than 100 have started small-scale green businesses at home.

The impact has also reached families and the wider community, with students passing on skills to relatives and peers. The school says this has helped learners build leadership, responsibility and stronger environmental awareness.

St Kizito High School has previously won the National Environment Management Authority Environmental Award and was a finalist in the Zayed Sustainability Prize. More than 30 schools have adopted similar approaches, while others visit St Kizito to learn from its model.

Vikas Pota, the founder of T4 Education and the World’s Best School Prizes, congratulated the school on the recognition.

“Congratulations to St Kizito High School on being shortlisted for the fifth annual World’s Best School Prizes. It has shown that Uganda’s schools truly stand among the best in the world.

“Each one of these exemplary schools shortlisted for this global schools prize has, in its own unique way, helped prepare young people for a world that has never seemed so uncertain. It is more important than ever that our schools grow the leaders we’ll need to face massive challenges from rising conflict and inequality to populism and climate breakdown.

“In their classrooms, every day, these institutions show what works. And governments and schools across the world should learn from their shining examples,” he said.

The winners of the five World’s Best School Prizes, covering Community Collaboration, Environmental Action, Innovation, Overcoming Adversity and Supporting Healthy Lives, will be chosen by an expert judging academy.

The Top 3 finalists and winners will be announced in November. All 50 shortlisted schools will also take part in a public vote to determine the winner of the Community Choice Award.

The winners and shortlisted schools will be invited to the World Schools Summit in London on January 16 and 17, 2027, where they will share their experiences with policymakers and education leaders.