A student at a Kericho day-secondary school has defied all odds to emerge victorious in his four-year schooling journey by attaining an A-minus grade.
Brian Sang Kipkorir, who studied at Poiywek Secondary School in Ainamoi Sub-County, Kericho, scored an A minus of 80 points and attributed his success to hard work in class and discipline in his study routine, despite walking five kilometres every day from home for the four years he was at the school.
Kipkorir urged students preparing for this year’s KCSE at the mixed-day secondary school to work hard in their classes and revise thoroughly for good grades.
“I am so delighted I cannot express the joy that I have. I was expecting to score this grade since, from the time I joined this school, I have never dropped below an A minus grade.
I encourage other students to continue working hard. I would always wake up at 3 am and sleep at 11 pm after studying. I thank my parents, my grandmother, and teachers for encouraging me along the way. It is my prayer that I get to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Medicine,” said Kipkorir.
His father, Mr. John Chepkwony, a teacher by profession, said he was positive that his son would perform exemplary in his national examinations as he utilised his time well during the four years he was a student at the school.
“I knew my son was a performer as he used his time well while he was a student at Poiywek Secondary School, and I wish him all the best. For the students, I want to tell them that character determines who you are and what you will be in the future,” said Mr. Chepkwony.
The School Principal, Kennedy Sigei, said Kipkorir joined the school with a Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) score of 360 marks, adding that he had set a record at the 50-year-old school.
He said the school will award Kipkorir with a laptop while the second-best student, Kipgeno Cosmus Korir, who scored a B plus grade, and the third-best student, Emmanuel Kipngeno Langat, who scored a B plain grade, will each receive a smartphone as gifts for their outstanding performances in the 2024 KCSE.
Principal Sigei revealed that 317 students had sat for the 2024 KCSE, and 50 of them qualified to join the University.
In an interview with KNA, the deputy principal in charge of the academics’ unit, Ms. Fancy Chepkoey, said the school had shown an improvement in their performance in this year’s KCSE and were hopeful of doing even better this year.
“We are celebrating last year’s results because of the exemplary performance. This is history being made in our school to get a student attaining an A-minus grade. This is an improvement, and this is value addition looking at the entry behaviour of our students because 50 of them have been able to qualify to go to the university compared to 2023, where we had 31 students out of 272 students who sat for their KCSE.
In 2023 our leading student had a B plus, but in 2024 our leading student scored an A minus grade, only missing one mark to get a clean A grade. This year we have 350 students who will sit for the 2025 KCSE.
By Sarah Njagi