There was joy at little known Rae Kanyaika Primary School in Kisumu county after it produced one of the top performers in this year's KCPE exam.
Felix Omondi Ochola scored 426 marks to emerge the fourth best student nationally in the results released on Thursday by Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu.
He expressed joy for the good results and attributed his success to God, motivating parents, supportive teachers and classmates.
“It has not been easy but we spent enough time studying for this exam," Ochola said.
He said he wants to become an electrical engineer just like his uncle.
“My uncle earned a good income from his work and he was also a very rich man. That is how i made my career choice," Ochola said.
School head teacher Paul Odhiambo said Ochola had been consistent in his results.
“Our top scorer Felix has been performing very well from the lower classes. The last paper we did before KCPE, he had 441 marks so we knew his performance will be exemplary in the final exams," he said.
Odhiambo said out of the 167 candidates, the school had five pupils who scored 400 marks and above.
The school's mean score has however dropped from 291.93 from 2022's 295. In 2021, the school had a mean score of 272.
Public schools in Kisumu have recorded better performances compared to the previous years.
Teachers attributed the improved performance to hard work and collaboration with the parents.
At Maseno Girls Boarding Primary School, over 10 candidates scored over 400 marks.
The school's top candidate Oro Queen Knight had 419 marks, followed by Pamela Joyce 411, Odira Audrey 410 and Sandra Faiza with 409.
Odhiambo Mitchel got 408 marks, Ashley Gloria 408 marks, Muga Trina 407 marks, Mbiji Alicia 404 marks and Ochieng Terry 403 marks.
Head teacher Hellen Oginga the had 126 candidates managed a mean score of 360 marks.
She attributed the good performance to hard work from both the teachers and the candidates.
"This year our students were not very good. Had it not been for hard work and the many strategies such s individualised teachings, we could have not managed this exemplary performance," she said.
Top student at Pandpieri Primary School, Chrispine Ochanji scored 402 marks, followed by Bright Odera with 398 marks.
Head teacher Alex Dianga said all their top 10 candidates had 385 marks and above with most students scoring above 300 marks.
Dianga said the school's performance has improved from 2021.
He has attributed the improvement to the reward and appreciation system they had for both teachers and pupils.
In MM Shah Primary School, more than 10 candidates scored over 400 marks.
Top candidate, Sydney Ouko, scored 413 marks followed by Ashley Natasha who scored 411. Third candidate Wycliffe Owiti scored 407 marks.
Heead teacher Michael Oriedi attributed the performance to teacher-pupil contact and teamwork.
At Xaverian Primary School, top candidate Michelle Midiwo, 13, scored 407 marks.
The school had 111 candidates who scored between 350 and 399 marks, 111 more scored between 300 to 350 marks while eight scored below 250.
At Arya Primary School in Kisumu Central, Barack Oduogo scored 408 marks and Ocampo Aswani scored 401 marks.