Collins Muli Kiio of Premese Academy in Makueni County was the overall best student in the Eastern region.
The-14-year old posted 429 marks, leading the pack of KCPE stars in the county and the region. He was followed by Rebecca Mwalale Benrodger of St Gabriel’s Boarding Primary School in Mwingi who got 428 marks. Paul Ndisya Uvyu of Ikombe Day and Boarding Primary School in Machakos County came third with 426 marks while Albert Muneeni Musyimi of Premese Academy, who posted 425 marks, was fourth.
They were followed by Anna Blessings of Miangeni International Schools in Makueni County and Raymond Muema Kioko of Emmanuel Springs Academy, Harriet Mwanzia of Premese Academy in Makueni County and Christopher Mutiso Kavulunze of Miangeni International Schools, all who scored 422 marks.
Victor Kasanga of Kari Mwailu Primary School and Alicia Ndanu of County School scored 417 marks while Nicole Mwongeli Muia of Earlybird Primary School scored 416 marks.
Sylvia Mutunga of Kitui Star Academy posted 408 marks ahead of her classmate Enock Mwati who bagged 405 marks. Diana Musengya Maingi of Makutano Primary School bagged 402 marks to join the lean club of KCPE stars in the three counties.
“I am really happy because I did not expect this kind of result but my hard work paid off. To my teachers I would like to say thank you. You have supported me through this long run. Sometimes you feel depressed when you fail a certain exam but the teachers were there to keep our spirits high. I would like to thank my parents for being supportive,” Collins Muli told reporters at the private school located at the heart of Wote Town.
The schools which dominated the KCPE charts in the region include Miangeni International Academy, Premese Academy, Ikombe Day and Boarding Primary School, Kitui Star Academy, Emmanuel Springs Academy, County School, Kari Mwailu Primary School and Earlybird Schools. Private schools dominated the top places in the region.
Out of the 40 candidates who wrote the test at Miangeni International Schools, the school posted a mean score of 398.4 marks.
“This is an improvement from the 396 mean score which we posted in March this year,” the headmaster, Desderius Makau, told reporters at the school. He attributed the good performance to discipline among the learners, dedication among teachers and cooperation by the parents.
The schools achieved higher mean scores than most public primary schools with several candidates in each institution getting more than 400 marks out of a possible 500 marks.
Among the top Catholic achievers was St Gabriel’s Boarding Primary School in Mwingi, was number one in Kitui County with a mean score of 397.4 marks. St Gabriel’s Boarding Primary School hit headlines in August 2018 when ten pupils perished and dozens others were injured in a road crash involving their school bus.
This year’s performance is an improvement from last year’s where they achieved a mean score of 383.3 marks, beating St Josephine Bakhita Zombe, another Catholic run school which was number one last year.
33 out of the school’s 54 KCPE candidates scored 400 marks and above, with the lowest ranked pupil scoring 366 marks.
Justice Christopher Nzili of the Environment and Lands Court who chairs the school’s board of management congratulated the candidates for passing with flying colours and for maintaining the high performance tradition.
The judge said this could not have been possible without the incredible dedication from the teaching staff and support from the church.
"On behalf of the school management, I wish to announce that God has demonstrated we are His flock and servants moulding and nurturing His kids. This year we managed an impressive mean score of 397.4 marks," said Justice Nzili.
He said the school community will hold a thanksgiving mass this coming Saturday to celebrate the victory of the kids.
Two other Catholic-run primary schools – St Josephine Bakhita Zombe and The Good Shepherd Academy in Kitui County, emerged second and third with mean scores of 384.69 marks and 370.0 marks respectively.
Diocesan Education Secretary Fr Julius Muthamba said all the church sponsored schools had significant improvement in this year’s KCPE exam.
Rev Muthamba thanked all the stakeholders including parents and teachers for being supportive to the common goal of maintaining best results in national examination and giving children firm foundation in their education.
In this year’s results, two sets of twins at Unoa Primary School in Makueni County emerged among the top scorers in this year’s KCPE whose results were released yesterday.
Sam Muthoka Mulatya scored 400 marks, a mark above his twin sister Hadasa Kalunde Mulatya.
Slightly below them were Patience Mwende and her sister Prudence Twili. Patience scored 397 marks while prudence bagged 361 marks. The two sets of twins both aged 14 years were the highlight of the results in the region. While the rest seemed comfortable with the results, Sam was inconsolable.
He was particularly after he was beaten by Faith Somba who bagged 405 marks to emerge the best in the class and among the KCPE stars in the region.
“We used to revise together. We would consult widely in areas where we are green,” Sam said, referring to her sister, Hadasa. He is planning to attend Kapsabet Boys High School in Uasin Gishu County in his journey towards becoming a software engineer. “We have been studying hard. We were not expecting to score those marks. We are grateful to God and our teachers,” Hadasa said, adding that she is planning to join Maryhill High School and eventually become a pilot. The performance did not come as a surprise to their parents and teachers.
“They have been bright since their nursery school days. They normally competed in tests. They are very friendly,” their mother Lilian Mukai said as she gushed over her last borns. The cleric and farmer linked the performance to prayer and hard work. “I strongly believe in prayer. We pray for them and encourage them to pray for themselves as they study hard. It is by God’s grace that they have scored such impressive marks,” she added.
“We are excited today that we have performed a bit better compared to the last time,” the head teacher Winfred Sila. According to Ms Sila, the top five students, among them the two sets of twins, used to compete intensely during internal tests.
“As a way of motivating the students we used to invite them for lunch at my office together with the deputy head teacher and two senior teachers. Beyond the treats we would encourage them to work hard,” she said.
The public school located at the heart of Wote Town stood out across the region where traditional academic giants remained top on the KCPE charts in terms of the mean grades and the number of students with more than 400 marks in this year’s KCPE results.
