New School Year Underway at Pathfinder Primary!

We proudly celebrated the 10 year anniversary of Pathfinder Primary School this year with the commencement of classes on January 9th. The school has made significant progress in its 10 year existence having started with just 26 student and having grown to a current student body of over 465 promising pupils. Pathfinder has matured to become one of the most prestigious and top performing schools in western Kenya, with students enrolling from all over Kenya and surrounding countries including Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania.
Each year, we send multiple students to selective National high schools (National high schools only accept approximately 1 out of every 1,800 students in Kenya), and even more students to Provincial high schools - just a small step down in prestige from National schools. This is made possible by the hard work and determination of both our talented teaching staff and our student body. Our students work hard to perform well on the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam, an exam which they sit for at the end of their Class 8 school year. A score of 400 or higher merits admission to National high school. Scores from about 350 and up, usually guarantee admission at Provincial schools.
Our current Class 8 students are the most promising group we have had yet. A class of 60 students, we had seven students score over 400 on our most recent prep KCPE exam, with one student scoring a 445. Many other students followed closely in suit scoring in the 390s and 380s, with a majority of the class scoring above 350. For reference, the national average on the KCPE is 250. This is an exciting result for Pathfinder Primary as it means that many of our students will be accepted at prestigious schools throughout Kenya and will have the opportunity to continue their educations and achieve their goals.
Pathfinder has also had an exciting start of the school year outside of classroom. Our students continue to learn about and be trained in GROW BIOINTENSIVE farming methods and have enjoyed conducting trainings for womens groups in the surrounding villages. The school is also now run entirely with solar power, an exciting step for the school and its students as they are now able to stay up after dark or wake up early to study if they choose. Students have a larger array of extra-curricular activities than ever to choose from including singing in the school or church choirs, sitting on the student council, and participating on the soccer, volleyball or basketball teams.
Overall, it is an exciting time for Pathfinder Primary as we continue to expand and make vast improvements to the school both academic and infrastructure wise. With the proposed opening of Lenana Girls High School next year, we hope to send more students than ever on to high school. We would like to thank our generous supporters for all of their help over the years, as all of these achievements have been made possible because of you.
Each year, we send multiple students to selective National high schools (National high schools only accept approximately 1 out of every 1,800 students in Kenya), and even more students to Provincial high schools - just a small step down in prestige from National schools. This is made possible by the hard work and determination of both our talented teaching staff and our student body. Our students work hard to perform well on the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam, an exam which they sit for at the end of their Class 8 school year. A score of 400 or higher merits admission to National high school. Scores from about 350 and up, usually guarantee admission at Provincial schools.
Our current Class 8 students are the most promising group we have had yet. A class of 60 students, we had seven students score over 400 on our most recent prep KCPE exam, with one student scoring a 445. Many other students followed closely in suit scoring in the 390s and 380s, with a majority of the class scoring above 350. For reference, the national average on the KCPE is 250. This is an exciting result for Pathfinder Primary as it means that many of our students will be accepted at prestigious schools throughout Kenya and will have the opportunity to continue their educations and achieve their goals.
Pathfinder has also had an exciting start of the school year outside of classroom. Our students continue to learn about and be trained in GROW BIOINTENSIVE farming methods and have enjoyed conducting trainings for womens groups in the surrounding villages. The school is also now run entirely with solar power, an exciting step for the school and its students as they are now able to stay up after dark or wake up early to study if they choose. Students have a larger array of extra-curricular activities than ever to choose from including singing in the school or church choirs, sitting on the student council, and participating on the soccer, volleyball or basketball teams.
Overall, it is an exciting time for Pathfinder Primary as we continue to expand and make vast improvements to the school both academic and infrastructure wise. With the proposed opening of Lenana Girls High School next year, we hope to send more students than ever on to high school. We would like to thank our generous supporters for all of their help over the years, as all of these achievements have been made possible because of you.