Questions parents ask
Answers to the questions families ask us most. If yours is not here, ask us on WhatsApp.
Safety and care
Is the campus secure?
Yes. The campus is fenced, a guard is on duty and there are security cameras. Boys leave campus only with written permission from a parent and the boarding staff.
Who looks after the boys at night?
Ten adults stay on campus every night, so there is always someone a boy can go to. At weekends the boarding staff are on duty.
How do you prevent bullying?
Younger boys sleep in their own part of the dormitory, apart from the senior forms. Prefects are chosen for their character and their studies, and are trained for the role. Every report of bullying is looked into, and parents are told.
What if my son is homesick?
Many boys feel homesick in their first weeks of boarding. The boarding staff meet every boy one-to-one each month, and a boy can ask to call home between activities. New boys arrive a week before the returning boys, so they can settle in before term starts. At night, a boy who is upset goes to the teacher on duty.
Who leads safeguarding?
One named person leads safeguarding for the whole school: the Principal, Khamis Abubakar Juma. Any parent or student can raise a concern with this person directly.
Boarding life
What does a typical day look like?
Boys wake at 5:00 for the dawn prayer and breakfast, and lessons start at 7:30. Lunch and the midday prayer are at 13:00, and lessons continue at 14:00. After supper at 18:30 comes evening prep, supervised by teachers. The night prayer is at 21:00 and lights out at 21:30.
Where do the boys sleep?
The boys sleep in one large dormitory, divided by form: Forms 1 and 2 on one side, Form 3 in the middle and Form 4 on the other side. Each boy has his own bed, a locker and a table.
Who does the laundry?
Boys wash their own clothes, using the washing machine when one is available and by hand otherwise. Please mark every item with your son's name or number.
What should he bring? Can he bring snacks?
The school uniform (1 T-shirt, 2 shirts and 2 pairs of trousers), bedding, sports kit, books and stationery are sold at the school. Bring toiletries, a towel and a lockable trunk or bag. Please do not bring electrical devices. Boys may bring some pocket money and can hand it to their teacher for safekeeping.
Food and health
Is the food halal, and what is served?
Yes, all food is halal. Boys have three meals a day, cooked in the school kitchen, with tea and a snack at breaks. The menu changes every week.
Can you cater for allergies or special diets?
Tell us about any allergy or special diet on the health form you fill in before he starts. If he cannot eat the main meal, the kitchen makes a separate one for him.
What happens if my son is ill?
A trained first aider and a first-aid room are on campus. For anything serious we take him to Maryam Hospital, about two minutes away, and call you straight away.
Does he need vaccinations or medical insurance? Who gives him his medicines?
The school does not ask for medical insurance. Hospital costs are paid by parents. A named member of the boarding staff keeps any prescribed medicines and gives them to him. No vaccination certificate is required.
Faith
Is there time and space for prayer?
The school has its own prayer hall, and boys pray together five times a day: Fajr at about 5:00, Dhuhr at 13:00, Asr at 16:00, Maghrib at 18:30 and Isha at 21:00. Lessons keep to the usual timetable on Fridays.
What happens during Ramadan?
Suhoor is served at about 3:00, prepared by the cooks and teachers. There is no sport during Ramadan, and the boys break their fast and pray tarawih together in the boarding house. Boys go home for Eid from the 27th of Ramadan.
Do you accept boys who are not Muslim? Are Islamic studies compulsory?
Olgun is a Muslim school and admits Muslim boys. Every boy studies the Qur'an and Islamic studies for about an hour and a half a day, and Islamic Knowledge is one of his examined subjects.
Keeping in touch
Can my son have a phone?
Boys hand their phones in to the boarding master, who keeps them during term. Phones are given back for the holidays.
How and when can I speak to my son?
A boy can ask to call home between activities at any time. For an urgent family matter, call or WhatsApp the boarding office on +255 704 008 932.
How will the school keep me informed?
By phone and through the school's system. Boys sit a test every month, plus midterm and end-of-term exams, and you receive his report within a week of each one.
When can parents visit?
Parents are welcome any day, at a time that fits the school day. Please arrange your visit on WhatsApp first. Parents' visiting day is the last Sunday of every month.
Fees and money
What do the fees include?
Fees cover lessons and evening prep, boarding and three meals a day. Uniform and kit (TZS 500,000, paid once) are extra, and parents pay for travel home and for any hospital treatment. National exam fees are not charged.
Can we pay in instalments or by mobile money? In which currency?
Fees are set and paid in Tanzanian shillings (TZS), term by term: TZS 1,000,000 a term, with three terms a year. This is the school fee only: boarding and meals are free of charge. A term can be paid in up to three instalments, but we ask that the first term is paid in full. After enrolment your son is given a payment control number, which you use to pay through a bank, a banking app or mobile money such as Lipa by Yas.
Are fees refunded if my son leaves?
Fees are not refunded once they are paid. This includes the joining costs.
Do you offer scholarships or a discount for brothers?
We do not offer scholarships or a discount for brothers at present. This page will be updated if that changes.
How much pocket money should he have?
Boys may bring some pocket money. If he wants it kept safe, he hands it to his assigned teacher.
Academics and joining
Which curriculum do you follow, which exams do boys sit, and is teaching in English?
Olgun follows the national Tanzanian curriculum. Boys sit the Zanzibar Form 2 examination set by the Zanzibar Examinations Council (BMZ) and the national Form 4 examination, the CSEE, set by NECTA. Academic lessons are taught in English; madrasa lessons (Qur'an and Islamic studies) are taught in Turkish.
What were your latest results, and where do boys go next?
Our first Form 4 class sat the CSEE in 2025: all 15 boys passed, 14 of them in Division I or II (NECTA, centre S6137).
Is there an entrance test or interview? Can boys join a higher form or mid-year?
Every boy has an interview in Mathematics, English and Science. Boys can also join Form 2 or Form 3, during the year or from another curriculum, when a place is free.
Travel, weekends and holidays
Can my son come home at weekends?
No. Boys stay at school at weekends, and the boarding staff are on duty. Day leave needs a written request from a parent, and the boy is signed out by a registered adult.
How do boys travel to school? Do you meet them at the airport or port? What happens in the holidays?
Families bring their sons to school at the start of term and collect them at the end. The school does not meet boys at the airport or the port. At mid-term boys go home or may stay at school, and the dormitories close in the long holidays, so every boy goes home.