Nyanza giants bounce back with blistering performances

 Kisumu Boys High School students celebrate shortly after receiving 2025 KCSE results. [Rodgers Otiso, Standard]

Nyanza's top schools that have ruled the region's academic scene for several years bounced back in style with impressive performance, ushering in celebrations and delight across the region.

Celebrations rocked academic giants, Maranda, Asumbi, Mbita High School, Riokindo, Ng'iya, Maseno, Kisumu Girls, and Kisumu Boys, following the results.

Maranda High School has recorded an impressive performance in the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations, cementing its status as one of the top-performing schools in the region.

According to the provisional results released on Friday, the school attained a mean of 10.2 from a total of 566 candidates.

The results show a strong overall performance across grades, with 101 candidates scoring grade A, 184 attaining A-, and 124 getting B+, reflecting consistent excellence among the candidates.

The school also posted an outstanding university transition rate of 98.24 per cent, indicating that nearly all candidates qualified for direct university admission.

Notably, no candidate scored a grade D+, D, D-, E or X, underscoring the depth of academic performance at the institution.

Compared to the previous year, the school registered a positive deviation of +0.44385, signaling continued improvement in academic outcomes.

The school's Chief Principal, Edwin Namachanja, attributed the strong results  to disciplined students, committed teachers, supportive parents, and a culture of academic excellence.

“This performance is a product of teamwork, consistency, and a shared vision to excel,” said Namachanja.

Asumbi Girls, another top performer, scored a mean of 9.78, with nine of students scoring straight As and another 178 settling for A minus.

Additionally, 396 students scored grade B plus. Linet Sati, the institution's principal, attributed the success to hard work and very supportive parents.

"I attribute this success to physical effort, God for good health and protection, and very supportive parents and the great teachers of Asumbi," said Sati. 

At Kisumu Boys High School, Principal Austin Muma said the institution had already confirmed strong outcomes despite delays in accessing results from the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) portal.

“Today, we are celebrating our results for the candidates of 2025. So far, we are still downloading the results from the NAC website. It is a bit of a jam, but from the results we have managed to access, we have counted 10 plain As,” Muma said.

He noted that two of the candidates scored an A plain with 84 points, with one student attaining straight As in all subjects. According to the principal, the school has also registered a significant number of A-minuses, with early analysis indicating the mean score is likely to rise above 8.

Maseno School emerged as one of the standout performers nationally, posting what it described as its strongest results in more than a decade.

Speaking during the release of the results, Dean of Studies Patrick Mboya said the school registered 89 candidates with plain A grades, 241 A-minuses, 176 B-pluses, 152 Bs, and 76 B-minuses. Others scored 40 C-pluses, 22 plain Cs, and eight C-minuses.

The results gave Maseno School an impressive mean score of 9.8335, with 96.3 per cent of the candidates attaining C+ and above, qualifying for university entry.

Notably, 24 of the 89 candidates who scored a plain A attained the maximum 84 points—an achievement the school has not witnessed in the last 10 years.

“This is the best performance we have recorded since 2015,” Mboya said, attributing the success to careful planning and strong support from teachers, the Board of Management, parents, and other stakeholders.

In Migori, Rapogi High School registered a slight increase after recording a mean of 9.126 compared to last year's 8.58.

Principal Erastus Nyagwa said the school had surpassed the mean of 2024 by 0.5 points.‎‎‎The school recorded 14 straight As, 77 A minuses, 94 B pluses, 139 Bs, 153 B minuses, 85 C pluses, and 40 Cs.‎‎According to the school Principal, they had their last students score three C minuses compared to last year, when they had eight C minuses and a D plus.‎‎"There has been a positive trajectory since 2023 to date. The students also did their part. Discipline is key," Mr. Nyagwa said.‎‎He said that the results were the efforts of students, parents, and their stakeholders.

At Kisumu Girls High School, Chief Principal Doreen Juma said results were still being compiled, but early indicators showed an improved performance compared to last year.

“We are still working on the results as they continue to trickle in. So far, we have confirmed 55 As, including plain A's and A-minuses, though we are still separating and compiling them,” Juma said.

The school presented 350 candidates for the examination this year, and Juma said the number of top grades recorded so far had already surpassed last year’s performance.

“We are expecting an improved result. The teachers were very cooperative, especially during exam time, and we had a peaceful examination period. We are satisfied so far as the analysis continues,” she added.

Meanwhile, at Ng’iya Girls High School, early results also showed strong performance, with Rebecca Ngoya emerging among the top candidates after scoring a plain A, as the school continues to compile the full results.

In the Gusii region, Riokindo toppled Kisii County's giants Kisii School and Nyabururu Girls, to emerge tops with an improved mean of 9.125.

This was an improvement from 9.09, the school registered in 2024.

According to Principal Gerald Orina, there was a single straight A and 74 A- minus grades from a candidature of 761.

"We were able to put together our synergies to produce the best grades. This far is the Lord," Orina said.

Nyabururu Girls had 505 candidates, of whom 462 managed direct entry.

Nine of the top girls scored nine straight As while 45 managed to get Grade A- according to Principal Joyce Orioki.

Rigena PAG had 231 candidates and managed to take 215 to University according to Chief Principal Bernard Ochieng.

Kiage Tumaini, a private school that had 48 candidates, took all of them to university with two straight As, and the last two securing grade B-.

In Nyamira, Sironga Girls regained its full former Glory with 1,056 of the 1,100 candidates who sat for the KCSE scoring university entry grades.

The School registered a mean of 8.5, an improvement from last year's 8.3.

This year, the National School had 32 candidates scoring grade A-, an improvement from 2024 when it had only 17.

The school's Principal, Jane Nyanumba, said the performance was attributed to enhanced teamwork and coordination of learning activities.

Nyakongo Boys, which topped in 2024, maintained the top spot with a mean of 9.1.

At St. Celestino Nyangubo Girls Secondary School, the results of only 25 out of 321 students had been recorded by the time of going to press.

There was jubilation in Mbita School after it produced several students with A plain in the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams.

In the school, 483 out of 525 acquired direct entry to universities.

A total of 37 candidates got A (plan) and 113 others got A- (minus). The other candidates who got direct entry to universities include 120 who got B+ (plus), 104 who had B (plain), 60  who got B- (minus), 49 with C+ (plus), 21 with C (plain), 10 with C- (minus),  nine with D+ (plus) while two got D (plain).

Mbita got a mean score of 9.2648. This was an improvement from the last year’s mean score of 9.1.

Mbita High School Principal Kennedy Ojijo attributed the results to co-operation between the board of management, teachers and students.

Ojijo told The Saturday Standard that the hard work and early completion of the syllabus enabled them to make the achievement.

“Our students were hard-working, and they have really proved to be better,” Ojijo said.

Ojijo expressed his jubilation for producing many As in the examination.

“Last year we had only 18 candidates with A plain. But I am glad that this year we have 37 candidates, of whom 8 of them scored everything in the exams by getting 84 points,” Ojijo said.

At Agoro Sare High School, 15 candidates got A (plain), 101 had A- (minus),  170 B+ (plus), 175 B (plain), 106 B- (minus), 30 C+ (plus), 5 C (plain) and 2 X.

Oriwo Boys High School, also performed well by producing 592 students who are joining universities directly. 

The school had 3 candidates with A (plain), 59 A- (minus), 157 B+ (plus), 253 B (plain), 96 B – (minus), 24 C+ (plus), and 2 C (plain).

The school had a mean of score of 9.2.

Oriwo Boys Principal Tom Amadi attributed the results to early completion of the syllabus.

[Rodgers Otiso, Isaiah Gwengi, Olivia Odhiambo, Stanley Ongwae, Clinton Ambujo and James Omoro]