Sawagongo Boys Secondary School in Gem emerged top in Siaya in the 2022 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education, beating a giant school in the region.
The school attained a mean score of 9.619 against their earlier projection of 8.6, successfully transiting all 386 boys to university.
One student got an A plain of 81 points. There were 63 A minuses, 152 B pluses, 132 B plains, 34 B minuses and 4 C pluses.
“It is our pride that we have transited all students to the university. I am delighted to celebrate the result of Swagongo High School,” Chief Principal Maurice Ogutu said.
Ogutu said it was a result of hard work by teachers and candidates and the help of God that they achieved good results.
The top student was Michael Odhiambo Oketch, who scored the first straight A.
Oketch got an A plain in five subjects, an A minus in 2 subjects and a B plus in another one.
His dream is to study medicine.
“My dream course has always been medicine. Our chief principal took us on academic trips to various universities. Most of them were to the faculties of medicine and I learnt that medicine is a good course,” he said.
Oketch, who was index two in school, attributed his success to being focused and support from teachers and parents.
“Hard work, determination, resilience and support from our teachers, our chief principal and the entire Sawagongo fraternity made it easier for us to work towards our goals,” he said.
Oketch who hails from Nyalenda slums in Kisumu said life had taught him to put his best foot forward in everything that he does.
“I come from Nyalenda, a slum, and it has always motivated me to work hard and be the best, and bring a new face to the world. No matter where you come or how you have been raised, the challenges, all negativities, if you are determined you will always succeed,” he said.
His father who was with him at the school for the celebrations said that his son was disciplined and had made his family proud.
“He is my last born and the first to get an A in my family. Of course, his siblings have all gone to university but he is the first to get an A. I am so happy he has made us proud,” the father said.
The parent said that the 2022 class was very loyal and disciplined.
The chief principal, who took charge of the institution only last year, said the school had been experiencing a dry spell of A plains for seven consecutive years.
This year’s sterling performance, Ogutu said, was due to the resolve of the 2022 candidates to heed instructions and remain loyal to the programmes.
“From morning to evening, there is something different that every subject is doing with a lot of commitment and involvement. The school is one family, we work together and support one another,” he said.
Ogutu also hailed parents and the Board of management for the support they gave to the candidates.
When he joined the school in May 2022, the 2022 class was in Form 3 but the students he said, quickly adapted to his way of doing things and when he shared his vision they quickly understood and followed.
Ogutu joined Sawagongo after many years away. His immediate former school was Kisii School. Before Kisii School, he was at Agoro Sare in Oyugis, Homa Bay.
The opportunity to come back home encouraged him to do more for his county-men and women.
“I also doubled my effort because I come from Siaya and I have not been in Siaya for long and I thought this is the time to make my home county better. I am proud of these results,” he said.
Initially, Ogutu was a principal at Chulaimbo in Kisumu and Ramba in Siaya and a deputy principal at Maranda.
It is in Maranda where he launched his career as a classroom teacher.
Following the 2022 results, Ogutu did not hide how proud to have beaten giant schools in the area.
He said he understands the super league that those schools play. As such, he resolved to put Sawagongo on the same path.
His resolve to revive Sawagongo, he said, is aimed at bringing about a multiplier effect, so that many other schools in the region can also rise to the occasion and produce quality results.
“My pride is to use Sawagongo to help other schools rise to the occasion so that Siaya can be back to where it was. Siaya has been the champion but we lost it somewhere,” he said.
He said one key challenge that most schools (Sawagongo included) face is the payment of school fees.
He said if teachers could have maximum time with students without being sent home for fee arrears, then Sawagongo will register more quality grades in years to come.