Kapsabet High topped the list of best schools in the 2021 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) for the second year running after posting a mean score of 10.688.
Just like last year, it was followed by Kenya High, which had a mean score of 10.42. The school also had three students among the top 15 candidates in Kenya.
The Kenya National Examinations Council stopped ranking of schools in 2016 after it was linked to unhealthy competition among schools. However, the Nation has put together a provisional ranking based on the scores as received from the schools.
We were unable to verify mean scores from Pangani High School and Alliance Girls High School, although they are among the top performers, as calls and text messages to the principals went unanswered.
A team that visited the schools on Saturday were promised the list, which had not come by the time of going to press yesterday.
The list prepared by the Nation is dominated by schools that have been performing well over the years but with varying performances.
Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha praised the performance of sub-county schools in the 2021 KCSE exam. In these schools, 17,327 students attained a mean grade of C+ and above, with 128 of them getting a mean grade of A- and above.
“This demonstrates that children can excel in sub-county day schools,” he said.
During an earlier meeting at State House, President Kenyatta instructed the ministry to channel more funds to the schools as they are often neglected yet they host the majority of students in secondary school.
In the top schools, Moi High School, Kabarak had a mean score of 10.36, taking the top perch in Nakuru County.
Nanyuki High in Laikipia County, which for the second year running was the most sought-after school in the country for Form One slots, had two students with As and 32 with A minus.
The school had a mean score of 8.739, up from 8.683 in 2020. The institution has a capacity of 480 students but received applications from 156,003 learners this year.
Principal Oliver Minishi said: “We’ve invested heavily in technical subjects despite the fact that the subjects are not being supported fully by the Ministry of Education. The steady improvement in performance has been attributed to this investment.”
While releasing the results on Saturday, Prof Magoha noted that the number of candidates who qualified for university admission increased, but the number of candidates also increased. Some 145,145 candidates attained the minimum university entry grade of C+.
Apart from the impressive mean score, Kapsabet High School also had the highest number of candidates scoring a straight A grade at 104, while 191 candidates had a mean score of A minus.
“The number of candidates with a minimum TVET diploma courses qualification of grade C- and above in 2021 was 325,896 (39.27 per cent). We therefore need to invest more in TVET institutions where the bulk of our KCSE examination graduands will study,” Prof Magoha said.
Friends School Kamusinga from Bungoma County was the best performer in the Western region with a mean score of 9.6186.
Kitui School was the best performer in lower Eastern with a mean score of 9.5, followed by St Charles Lwanga also in Kitui which posted 8.95.
In Upper Eastern, Meru School had the best mean score of 8.98 followed by Chogoria Girls High, which had 8.65. Kaaga Girls and St Mary’s Girls High School, Igoji, also maintained their good performance with a mean score of 8.22 and 8.52, respectively.
In Central, Mang’u High School had the best mean score at 10.284. The school also produced the best candidate nationally—Jeriel Ndeda Obura with a mean score of 87.167. The school had two other students in the top 15 list: Job Ngara (87.116) and Mutethya Caleb Ngumbau (87.057).
In Tharaka Nithi, Chogoria Girls’ High School retained the top position after attaining a mean score of 8.65, while Ikuu Boys’ High School from Chuka/Igambang’ombe had a mean of 8.19.
Top performers from the region included St Gonzaga Gonza Isoge (9.356), Gendia High School (9.3121) and Nyansiongo High (9.3013).
Sheikh Khalifa High School in Mombasa County was the best in Coast region, followed by Light Academy, which had a mean score of 8.73. The sister school in Nairobi had a mean score of 9.61.
Baricho Boys High School in Kirinyaga County posted a mean score of 9.45, with 17 candidates scoring straight As, an improvement from last year’s 10.
Additional reporting by George Munene, James Murimi, Charles Wanyoro, Alex Njeru, Gitonga Marete and Mercy Mwende
