Top school in Kilifi laments 'poor' results in KCSE exams

Arabuko Forest High School

Four out of five candidates from Arabuko Forest High School who scored A- in the 2022 KCSE examinations during the prize-giving day on March 11, 2023. 

Photo credit: Maureen Ongala | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • School Principal Mr Alwai Rashid said the mean grade was far below their target.
  • The best-performing candidate in the school scored a mean grade of B+.

Arabuko Forest High School, a private school in Kilifi County, has expressed dissatisfaction with the results of the 2023 KCSE examinations.

Despite being the top performing school in the County, the school claims the results are not a true reflection of their students’ performance.

In a press briefing at the school, the Principal Mr Alwai Rashid said the school's mean grade was far below their target.

“We feel there were challenges that we cannot state in detail because we are shocked. We had high expectations and we did not expect a mean grade of B-. We were expecting a much better performance, considering the preparations we did for our candidates in 2023,” Mr Rashid said.

Unlike past years when the school has produced several students with grade A, this time round their leading four candidates scored B+.

The school had 97 candidates and scored a mean grade of B- of 8.14 against their target of B (9.2).

“We had good students who did not score the result that we expected of them. Some students were also not performing well in class but recorded good results. This has left us confused,” Mr Rashid said.

According to the Principal, the school's performance dropped slightly from 2022 when the school registered a mean grade of 8.7(B).

“We are proud that the mean score still places us on top of Kilifi County and far above many competitive schools in the region and in the country,” Mr Rashid said.

The school has been recording an improvement in its performance and an increase in the number of candidates since 2016 when it scored a mean score of 5.9 with 57 candidates.

Bahari Girls National School in Kilifi improved their performance after recording a mean score of 7.65 (B-) from their target of 7.69.

The Principal Ms Hamaro Sylvano said the school had 260 candidates but one did not sit for her examinations due to health complications.

Ribe Boys High School, a national school in Kilifi, had 230 candidates with a mean score of 6.9. The top candidate in the school scored an A grade while six others had A-. Out of the 230 candidates in the school, 113 attained university entry score.

Kilifi North Sub County Director of Education Mr Hassan Abdulattif said some schools are yet to get their full results.