Kapsabet Boys made headlines when it managed to send all the 461 students who sat for the 2021 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) to university and emerged the best school nationally. Under the motto ‘strive to excel,’ the school also produced the best special needs candidate, Reuben Osoro Branton, who scored a mean score of 83.489. Only one candidate scored a C+.
WoK brings you the man behind the success story that is Kapsabet Boys.
About Chief Principal Mr Kipchumba Maiyo
Mr Kipchumba Maiyo was posted to serve as Kapsabet Boys principal in July 2010. According to an interview he granted the Nation, he wanted to be a lawyer but missed law school admission criteria by a point. Maiyo wasn’t held down by this; in fact he braved life’s baggages and as fate would have it, he is currently in charge of Kenya’s top school.
His journey as a teacher of history and religion started in 1994. His leadership skills seemed to have manifested early as he was posted to Cheptil Secondary School as a deputy principal.
He told the publication that Cheptil Secondary School had 54 students at the time and was on the verge of collapsing. By the time he was leaving Cheptil, the institution had about 800 students. Maiyo also takes credit for the fact that Cheptil established themselves as the giants of volleyball in Kenya. He has taught for 28 years and counting.
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Elevated To National School
Maiyo joined Kapsabet Boys in July, 2010 and saw the school get elevated to national status in a move that sought to establish equality in the education sector. Initially, the institution was only admitting students from the locality.
Though Kapsabet Boys had been posting impressive results, the institution was not steady in emerging among top schools countrywide. With its elevation to a national status, the institution started attracting bright students from beyond Rift Valley, a majority who scored 400 marks in KCPE examinations.
According to Mr Kipchumba Maiyo, these students were already A materials and so the school ensured that their primary school performance didn’t plunge. Under his stewardship, Kapsabet has raised and set the academic bar high and emerged the second best school nationally in the 2019 KCSE exams.
In 2020, it was Kapsabet’s moment as the Nandi County school outstripped other top schools to emerge the best in KCSE. They posted an impressive 10.5 points. In the recently released results, the institution not only maintained their top slot but managed to achieve a positive deviation and had a mean of 10.7 points.
In 2021, over 99,000 students applied to join the institution which can only take 500 applicants.
Maiyo’s Leadership Style
According to the Chief Principal, the school maintains an open door policy where students are allowed to access any office whenever they have biting issues. It is due to this reason that students have maintained utmost discipline which is crucial in achieving commendable academic results.
It is said that getting to the top is easier than maintaining oneself at the pyramid tip. The school therefore has come up with means to ensure that all students get off the comfort zone. For example, the school focuses on weak students and organizes remedial lessons for them to ensure that they score better grades.
“As we sharpen the head, we cut the tail by organising remedial classes by coaching these children who are weak, to push their grades,” he reveals.
Notable Alumni
The current deputy president William Ruto and former President Daniel arap Moi are among the leaders who passed through this institution.
