The major goal of education is to provide high quality education experiences in all schools irrespective of their location. The study sought to establish the factors affecting school establishment and the relationship between school location and student academic performance. A mixed research design was employed using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The study findings revealed that major factors like land resource, communities, government and religious bodies determined the establishment of secondary schools in their locations in Kasese District. The study exposed that the value 0.002 less than 0.05 implied that there is significant relationship between determinants of school establishment and location of school; the significance value 0.029 less than 0.05 implied that there is a relationship between school location and students’ academic performance. The study recommended that government should focus more attention in facilities located in peri- urban and rural areas in order to improve nationwide student academic excellence.