Private schools at the Coast performed better than public institutions in the 2022 KCPE exam.
The top candidate in the region was Douglas Kilonzo Kioko from the Nyali School. He scored 422 marks out of the possible 500 marks.
“I was expecting more than 430 marks in this year’s examination, but I’m glad for the 422,” Kilonzo said.
He dreams of becoming a computer engineer.
The 14-year-old boy, the last born in his family, hopes to join Kapsabet High School. Kilonzo said he was inspired by candidates who scored more than 450 in previous KCPE exams.
His mother Jedidah Mwendwa said they are happy with the marks.
“As his parents, we are so happy with the results. Even though he complained that is not what he wanted, we know that when you aim for the sun, you can fall on the moon. He has landed on the moon and we are grateful,” Mwendwa said.
Nyali School principal Omar Chai Babu said 19 students scored 400 marks and above. The school had a mean score of 363.66.
“This year’s lot was the biggest we have ever registered since this school started in 1942. We had 106 candidates and among them, we had 19 scoring above 400 marks,” Babu said.
Last year, they had 87 candidates and their top candidate had 420 marks.
The top school in the Coast region is Mudzini School in Kikambala, Kilifi county. It has a mean score of 402 marks.
The school's top candidate, Cindy Esther Safari, had five straight As with 420 marks.
Leah Wangari, the principal of the school, told the Star that this was their third KCPE examination, and the school has been posting improved results every year.
“The first lot we had a mean of 347, it was during the Covid-19 period. Last year, the results improved to 380 and this year we are up again to 402,” Wangari said.
The school had eight candidates with more than 400 marks.
At Busy Bee School in Mombasa, which last year produced the top candidate with 421 marks, this year their best student Kithi Leona Dama managed 416 marks.
Nine students out of 40 scored 400 marks and above in the school.
Dr Susan Mwaka, whose daughter Salome Mwaka scored 413 marks at Busy Bee School, described the institution as the best in Mombasa.
Busy Bee had a mean of 366.41.
Other best performing schools were Fairfield Academy and Mary Joy School in Mombasa.
George Gitonga, the director of Fairfield Academy, said they had 115 candidates in their Kiembeni and Mombasa town branches.
“At Kiembeni, we had 80 students and in the town branch we had 35 candidates. Our mean score this year has improved to 355 from 350 last year,” he said.
The school's top candidate had 410 marks. Seven students scored more than 400 marks.
At Mary Joy Academy, the top student was Natalie Kasisi, with 415 marks.
The school registered a mean score of 372, an improvement from last year's 352.
Eleven candidates scored 400 marks and above compared to nine last year.
In Kwale county, Bethany Academy, Makaela Likunda Academy and Masimbani were the best schools in the KCPE exam.
Kwale’s top candidate was Dorcas Ndunga from Mikaela Likunda Academy. She scored 419 marks.
Ndunga, 14-year-old, said she wants to pursue aeronautical engineering. She hopes to join Alliance Girls.
Mikaela Likunda had a mean score of 358. Some 87 students sat the 2022 KCPE exam at the institution.
Bethany’s top candidate Jason Wandera had 417 marks. He wants to pursue medicine.
“I want to serve humanity because so many people are suffering. I also want to make my father, who passed on some few years back proud,” Wandera said.