Why Goldalyn Kakuya Did Not Feature Among Top KCSE Candidates

KCPE 2017 top candidate Goldalyn Kakuya
KCPE 2017 top candidate Goldalyn Kakuya during a press interview in December, 2017.
Citizen TV

Goldalyn Kakuya hit headlines in 2017, when she emerged the best candidate in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education Exam with 455 marks.

Four years later, Kenyans who still remember her, waited to hear her name as Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha announced the 2021 KCSE results on Saturday, April 23. That did not happen.

Kenyans.co.ke has since established that Kakuya, who had been admitted to the Kenya High School, did not sit the 2021 KCSE.

The 2017 KCPE champion is currently a student at the Brookhouse School, after she switched from 8-4-4 to the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) system.

Goldalyn Kakuya poses with an award at Brookhouse School
Goldalyn Kakuya poses with an award at Brookhouse School
File

Kakuya joined Brookhouse in 2019 after First Lady Margaret Kenyatta offered her a scholarship following her stellar performance. The top student left Kenya High and joined Year 10, an equivalent of the class she was in the 8-4-4 system.

She continued to display academic excellence even in the new IGCSE system. In 2020, she emerged the second-best in the Year 11 examination at the school coming second to Sean Theuri.

Goldalyn posted impressive results, scoring eight  A*s and two As in the year's exams. The institution allows students to take nine subjects, with Maths, English Language, English Literature and at least one science being compulsory.

Brookhouse Schools Head Teacher Eric Mulindi lauded the performance terming it a collective effort of the students and the staff. Nominated Senator, who had been keen on Gakuya's performance, also celebrated her results. 

"Our little girl is still topping in her class with straight As. I am glad to have been her destiny connector to study at the prestigious Brookhouse School courtesy of the First Lady Margaret Kenyatta after we took her to meet the President. Truly proud of her," Mwaura wrote.

After Year 11, she advanced to the Advanced Subsidiary (AS) and  Advanced Level in Years 12 and 13 respectively. Kakuya will be sitting her final A-level exam in 2022, before advancing to university.

Apart from Kakuya, the top 2018 KCPE top candidate Olive Wachira, who scored 453 marks also received sponsorship from the Margaret Kenyatta foundation to join Brookhouse School.

Kakuya's record is yet to be broken under the Magoha era, with Olivia being the closest to beating her. However, the record for the highest marks scored in KCPE is held by Marita Nyakundi Calvin who scored 482 marks out of 500 in 2003.

KCPE 2017 top candidate Goldalyn Kakuya (far right) receives her scholarship from First Lady Margaret Kenyatta
KCPE 2017 top candidate Goldalyn Kakuya (far right) receives her scholarship from First Lady Margaret Kenyatta
PSCU