Academies put up a good fight to tower above public schools

Teachers and students celebrate with Daniella Musanga of Roots Academy who scored 421 at their school on March 28, 2022. (Harun Wathari, Standard)

Private schools from Western recorded a sterling performance in the KCPE examination results announced by Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha yesterday.

Academic giants Booker Academy, Kakamega Hill School, St Joseph’s Kakamega primary, Fesbeth Academy, Marell Academy in Bungoma and Mudasa Academy in Vihiga county all produced better grades in the examinations compared to the previous year.

But it was Holy Family Misikhu Girls boarding, a public school, that pulled a surprise by producing the third best candidate nationally and overall best in Western. Kwoma Charity Buyanzi scored 426 to emerge tops.

Ms Stellah Khakina, the school headteacher described Buyanzi as a hardworking and focused learner.  “Teachers, pupils and parents had a good rapport which enabled us to produce the best girl in the entire region,” she told The Standard.

Buyanzi thanked her teachers for working tirelessly to make her a better pupil.  

Booker Academy principal John Mark Wandera thanked the candidates for maintaining the school on the academic map.

“We had a lot of trust in them and they did not let us down, we expect to post even better results in this year’s KCPE examinations,” said Mr Wandera.

Marrel Academy in Bungoma County emerged top in the region after recording a mean score of 399.47. It had 30 candidates.

Their top candidate, Julie Odeo had 421 marks followed by Siena Mackenzie (419), Hosea Keya (414) and Deborah Wamalwa (412). Fifteen out the 30 candidates scored over 400 marks.

“We attribute the good results to our dedicated teachers who worked tirelessly in ensuring that we maintained our position in the region despite the academic calendar being disrupted by Covid-19,” said David Kango, the school headteacher.

The school director Ellis Ominde said the school has guaranteed learners a friendly learning environment.

Mudasa Academy in Vihiga came second after posting a mean of 399.4 while Fesbeth Academy from Kakamega County was the third-best private school in the region after posting a mean score of 395.87.

Previously, Fesbeth Academy had been the top school in the region for three consecutive years in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

It also produced the top 10 candidates in the country, Diana Rose Matolo who was ranked seven with 425 marks with Ian William Miller and Michele Awuor obtaining 423 marks each. The school had 78 registered candidates.

“We faced a lot of challenges when schools were closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In order to ensure our candidates were well prepared for the exams, we opened a WhatsApp Group where we used to post revision materials and parents would print and give to the candidates,” said Ms Ruth Minish, the director.

Kakamega Hill School is the fourth-best school in the region with a mean score of 391.34 followed by Green Mount School from Kakamega which posted a mean of 387.4 in the fifth position.

Booker Academy came sixth with a mean score of 381 while Applegate Academy from Kakamega was number seven with a mean of 378.

Evelyne Tiany, the director of Applegate Academy thanked God for answering their prayers after posting exemplary results.

[Reports by Nathan Ochunge, Brian Kisanji and Omelo Juliet]