Old academic giants in Western region return to top positions

Old academic giants in Western region made a return to the top positions in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations.

Results announced by Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha indicate the schools were on track to reclaiming their past glory.

They include Kakamega School in Kakamega County, Friends School Kamusinga in Bungoma, Bunyore Girls and Chavakali Boys in Vihiga, St Peters Boys High School in Kakamega and Lugulu Girls in Bungoma.

However, schools in Busia County once again failed to shine. The county did not have any student with grade A score in the KSCE examination, for the fourth consecutive year.

Butula Boys and Kolanya Girls failed to live up to their billing after producing top candidates in the exam in the past and only managing to register an A minus as their best score.

PERFORMANCE INDEX

Kamusinga had nine straight As and 62 A minus with the school posting an improved mean score of 9.16 compared to last year’s 8.3.

Bunyore Girls posted strong performance, recording a mean score of 8.893 while Mudasa Academy joined the league of top performers from the region with a mean score of 8.62.

Bunyore Girls had three candidates scoring As while 47 others posted A minus and 104 had B plus.

Chavakali Boys overcame the bad memories of 2015 when their KCSE results were cancelled due to irregularities and posted an improved performance this year.

Eight candidates had a mean grade of A while 42 clinched A minus.

The school posted a performance index of 7.756. Other schools from Vihiga County with impressive results include Vokoli Girls and Nyang’ori Boys, which had a mean grade of 7.1.

Vihiga High, another former top school, managed a mean grade of 6.889 and had 12 candidates scoring A minus and 12 others B plus.

DISCIPLINE

Kakamega School, Butere Girls, St Peter’s Boys and Sacred Heart Mukumu Girls have dominated the top positions in national examinations in Kakamega County.

This year, Kakamega School recorded a mean score of 7.6, up from the 6.8 it attained in 2018. Three candidates at the school scored A while 25 posted A minus.

Butere Girls recorded a performance index of 7.452 and had one candidate scoring an A while 17 others had an A minus. The mean was 7.452.

St Peter’s Boys got a 7.322 mean grade. The principal, Mr Gerald Orina, attributed the good results to discipline among students.

“We work closely with parents and leaders in the county to improve the learning environment and enhance discipline in the school so that we can have good results,” said Mr Orina.

LAUDABLE RESULTS

In Mumias, Booker Academy registered an improved mean grade of 7.508, up from the 7.455 attained in 2018. Three candidates scored A minus, 18 B plus while 25 posted a plain B.

Neighbouring St Peter’s Boys Mumias had 13 candidates scoring A minus and 42 posting B plus in the exam. The school posted a mean grade of 7.322.

Kakamega County Director of education Dickson Ogonya said most schools posted a good performance.

“Generally, the results were good but we are waiting to analyse them to establish how our region performed,” said Mr Ogonya.

Schools like Mabole Boys in Butere and St John’s Mukhweya in Matungu sprung surprises by posting a sterling performance.