Rift Valley Reaffirms Its Status as Kenya’s Academic Breadbasket — 2025 KCSE Results Analysis

The 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results have underscored the Rift Valley’s long-standing prominence in national academics, with several schools from the region registering among the top performers in the country.

According to official result listings and compiled performance data:

Top National Performers and Rift Valley Leaders

• Kapsabet Boys High School emerged as the leading Rift Valley institution, recording one of the highest mean scores among schools outside of Nairobi and the Central region. Multiple candidates from the school achieved straight As (84 points), establishing it as a centre of academic excellence in STEM and overall performance. 

• Moi High School Kabarak, a private school in Nakuru County, also stood out in the Rift Valley block. With a mean grade in the B+ bracket (approximately 10.13) on the KCSE 2025 scale, Kabarak remained among the top tier nationally. 

• Moi Girls’ High School Eldoret and Nakuru Boys High also featured in performance lists with strong mean scores within the top ranks of Rift Valley schools. 

National performance aggregators — although KNEC no longer publishes official ranking tables — show that Kenya High School, Alliance High, and Alliance Girls High ® remain strong national performers, with Kenya High reported to have one of the highest mean scores nationally. 

Across Kenya, 270,715 candidates secured a mean grade of C+ or above — the minimum requirement for public university placement — demonstrating broad academic success nationally. 

Exceptional Individual Performances

In the 2025 national examinations:

• Barrak Ondicho (Kapsabet Boys High School) scored straight As (84 points), one of the highest possible scores attainable under the KCSE grading system. He was widely celebrated across social platforms and local media as potentially the best performing student nationally this cycle. 

• Other Kapsabet Boys students — including Bramwel Kipkosgei and Mark Kibet — also scored the maximum 84 points, reinforcing the school’s competitive academic culture. 

Institutional Success Stories

Kapsabet Boys High School

• Known for its strong performance in Mathematics and Sciences, the school reportedly produced multiple A plain grades in 2025, a significant achievement for a public national school outside Kenya’s traditional academic centres in Nairobi. 

Moi High School Kabarak

• The private institution sustained a legacy of excellence, maintaining high transition rates to university programmes and strong mean scores among its candidates. 

Other Rift Valley Schools

• Moi Girls Eldoret and Nakuru Boys High also featured among the higher-performing Rift Valley schools, with mean grades solidly in the B+ bracket. 

Factors Behind the Rift Valley’s Performance

Academic Environment and Culture

Education analysts point to several contributing dynamics:

• Focused learning environments in many Rift Valley counties, where schools benefit from relatively serene surroundings and disciplined study cultures.

• Strong instructional programmes, including early and structured revision cycles extending back to Form 3, particularly in top schools such as Kapsabet Boys.

• A blend of community support, discipline, and institutional leadership often highlighted as drivers of sustained excellence.

Pressure and Well-Being Concerns

• While the output of high grades and university qualifiers is celebrated, some educators and psychologists caution that intense academic pressure may elevate stress and mental health concerns among students — a trend seen in top performing regions nationwide.

Contextual Performance Comparisons

Historical and comparative data from prior years (e.g., 2024) show similar dominance by Rift Valley schools such as Kapsabet and Kabarak, although mean scores and the number of straight As vary annually with cohort performance and assessment outcomes. 

Summary

The 2025 KCSE results reaffirm the Rift Valley’s reputation as one of Kenya’s academic heartlands. With multiple schools from the region — notably Kapsabet Boys and Moi High School Kabarak — registering among the country’s top performers by both mean score and individual achievement, the region continues to be a key contributor to Kenya’s pool of high achievers heading to tertiary education.