The second term of the year came to an end on 7th August and was marked by a closing ceremony in the school hall.

The afternoon began with speeches from the class teachers about how each form had done in their exams. Prizes were awarded to those students who had come top in each subject and among the first three overall in their class, as well as to those who had shown the most improvement and those considered to be the most disciplined and the neatest.

Next came the presentation of certificates and trophies that the principal had received at the county prize-giving day for last year’s KCSE results. Kisima was the best school in the county and the school with the highest percentage of grade B and above.

There was also entertainment from some of the students in the form of two traditional songs and one play they had written themselves about career choices. The ceremony ended with a speech from the principal with his thoughts on the term and instructions and guidance for the future.

A warm welcome is what we received when we went to the homes of two of the Form One students.  Last term’s volunteers, Daisy and Ruby, were back with us for a few days and took the chance to visit their sponsored students’ homes.

The two girls live not far from Kisima, so we were able to visit both homes in an afternoon and thereby find out a little bit about the girls’ lives when they are not in school.  Rosejanet’s mother lives on a plot of land owned by a well-wisher and relies on casual work to provide for the family’s basic needs.  Violet’s grandmother farms a small piece of family land and keeps chickens – one of which she kindly gave us as a present.

At each home we were given a hearty meal followed by cups of tea.  Having left Kisima after lunch and arriving back just in time for dinner, there was no chance of going hungry that day!

The K.C.S.E. results were published last week, so last year’s Form Four students found out how they performed in the exams they took back in October/November. Congratulations go to them for achieving the following overall grades:

Grade       Number of students
A                          1
A-                      13
B+                       3
B                          7
B-                        6
C+                       2
C                          2

These results make Kisima the best-performing school in the county (Nyandarua County), position 70 out of the 7,606 schools in the country and position 18 out of all the private schools in the country.

More importantly, they mean that all the students have good grades for accessing further study, training or work opportunities. Those with an A, A- and B+ are assured of a university place with a loan, while we wait to see how many of those with a B have also made the cut-off. They have already applied to the university Joint Admission Board, with popular course choices being Engineering, Nursing, Computer Science, Commerce, Mass Communication, Tourism and Hospitality Management and Education.

Those with the other grades may choose to apply for college courses or careers such as the military or police, or they may opt to find work or investigate scholarship opportunities so they can later join university as private students.

Thanks go to our teachers for all their hard work, and once again, well done to all the students. We look forward to following everyone’s progress over the coming years!

We are very happy to have with us Daisy Eyre and Ruby Earle, who are volunteering here at Kisima for the whole term. Last week they began two new activities with the students; a French club run by Daisy and gymnastics lessons taught by Ruby.  It is great to have them with us to share their skills and interests with the students in this way.