Top KCSE achievers in Coast were high fliers in primary

Students from Light Academy School in Mombasa celebrate after the 2015 KCSE results were released on Thursday. The school produced a student with one of the best results in the country.

MOMBASA: Several students who performed well in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams four years ago, did not disappoint in the just-released national examinations.

Ahlam Mohamed, who sat her KCPE exams in 2011 at Qubaa Muslim Primary School in Mombasa and scored 381 marks, scored a straight A in last year’s KCSE exams.

Ahlam was among the best students scoring a straight A of 84 points. She sat her examinations at Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed al Nahyan Secondary and Technical School. The 19-year-old whose father died in 2002 when she was still an infant, celebrated her sterling performance with her former schoolmates and family at Nyali Estate.

“God heard our prayers. We worked hard and He has honoured our hard work,” Ahlam told The Standard on Saturday.

Ahlam, who wants to be a doctor, said she was motivated to work hard by her family and teachers.

“I owe my family a lot because they supported me during my time in school,’’ she said. Another factor that contributed to her success, was being an early riser.

Early riser

She recalled those days: “A normal day at school started at 5.30am. I would start by praying and reading a few verses from the Quran before preparing to go to school.’’ Her friends - Hannan Barre, Nuria Hassan, Nassra Mohamed and Nassim Mohamed - also recorded impressive performance of strong As.

According to the principal of her former school Suleiman Bwika, the girls outsmarted boys in last year’s examinations with 14 As while boys managed 13 As. The school had registered 179 candidates, 100 girls and 79 boys.

Another top performer in KCPE exams who did not disappoint in the 2015 exams is Hawa Omar who sat the exams at Abu Hureira Academy in Mombasa.

Hawa scored an impressive A plain of 82 points.

Hawa sat KCPE exams at the Abu Hureira Academy Primary in 2011 and scored 416 marks. “I was keen on better results and always followed advice of my teachers who were there to offer direction,’’ Hawa said.

GOD AND HARD WORK

She wants to either study medicine or petroleum engineering.

“The recent oil discoveries in Turkana have piqued my interest in oil and gas studies. I also like medicine. So I am confused at the moment,’’ she said flanked by her siblings Zahra and Warda at their family home in Old Town estate, Mombasa County.
Students and teachers led by the Principal praised Hawa for her achievement.

Hawa’s mother, Mariam Twalib was happy with her daughter’s performance.

“She is a disciplined child and has maintained a winning streak in her academic performance since her primary school days,’’ the mother said. Hawa’s aunt shared her niece’s secret to success: “She would read for a straight hour, take a short break and continue.’’

Abu Hureira’s Principal Said pointed that the institution’s sound religious background provided no room for indiscipline hence the sterling performance. Last year, the school had a mean score of 9.14 points but improved in 2015 to 10.02 points. It enrolled 36 candidates who included 18 boys and an equal number of girls. Elsewhere, Khatija Bagha and her friend Noor Salyani, both of Aga Khan High School, Mombasa were elated after they both scored As. Both girls want to study medicine at the university.

“We developed close friendship and I knew from the word go that our main goal was to excel in national examinations,’’ Khatija said yesterday. Other top performers in Coast also celebrated with their families upon receiving the results.

Ms Nidhi Davadra from Aga Khan High School who scored an A plain of 83 points said she would like to study accounting at the university.

“I want to be a top-notch accountant,” said Davadra.

Abdurahman Muhsin from the same school who registered a mean grade of A plain of 82 points wants to study computer engineering

“I’m fascinated by computers. I know it is challenging but I’m prepared,” said the 18-year old.

- Reports by Philip Mwakio, Ernest Ndunda and Mwangi Muraguri