St Gabriel Boarding Primary School in Mwingi, Kitui County, delivered strong Kenya Certificate of Primary Education results in 2018 even after a road crash on August 5 killed 10 of its pupils and left others injured.
The results, announced by Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed on Monday, showed the school had remained among the county’s top performers. The school reopened for third term in September while Standard Eight candidates were still grieving classmates they had lost on the return journey from a five-day study and motivational trip to Mombasa.
St Gabriel, which is run by the Kitui Catholic Diocese, ranked as the second best private school in Kitui with a mean score of 373.3 marks. That was an improvement from 357 in 2017.
The school also recorded gains in every subject except Science. Its top mark rose from 405 last year to 425.
Eric Kathula Ngombo led the school with 425 marks. Among the pupils who survived the crash, Ashley Mwende scored 415, Faith Mumo 414, Diana Mwangi 383 and Lyn Mutua 356.
Board chairman Christopher Nzili said the outcome reflected the effort of teachers, parents and other supporters who helped the children recover after the accident.
“I take this opportunity to congratulate our candidates, teachers, parents and all stakeholders for the teamwork and great moral support given to our pupils after the accident to enable them score good grades,” said Mr Nzili.
He said the crash disrupted exam preparation because the candidates had lost friends they had known for years. According to him, counselling was needed to help them deal with the psychological trauma.
Twenty-nine pupils scored 350 marks and above, which qualified them for admission to extra-county secondary schools. The school later held a thanksgiving mass on Tuesday to celebrate the performance.
The accident involved a bus carrying only Standard Eight pupils and a trailer near Mwingi town. Eight pupils died at the scene, six were seriously wounded and the rest suffered injuries including broken limbs, fractures and bruises.
Two of the six pupils taken to Kenyatta National Hospital later died from excessive bleeding, one while being transported to Nairobi and the other while receiving treatment.
The pupils had travelled more than 600 kilometres during the trip, which included visits to Fort Jesus, Bamburi Reptile Park, Jomo Kenyatta Public Beach and Moi International Airport.
