Kisumu County sits on the northern and eastern shores of the Winam Gulf of Lake Victoria, with Kisumu City, Kenya’s third largest, as its headquarters. About 1.16 million people live in the county, from city estates like Milimani, Nyalenda and Manyatta to the sugar belt around Muhoroni and the lakeside and rice-growing areas of Nyando and Ahero. Grade 6 and Grade 9 learners across all of them sit KPSEA and KJSEA from Monday 26 October to Friday 30 October 2026.
Exam Week In Kisumu: The Practical Bits
Learners sit the national papers at their own registered school, so there is no travel to a strange centre. What catches Kisumu families out is the heat. Afternoons in late October can be very warm, and papers continue after midday. Send your child with water and a light snack the school allows, and make sure they sleep properly; a tired child in a hot classroom loses concentration fastest. If your child takes a boda boda or matatu to school, agree a pick-up time with the rider for the whole week, so Monday morning is not a scramble.
Count down the days with our exam countdown.
Revision That Fits A Kisumu Evening
Power interruptions and shared phones are real in many homes. Two habits help. First, revise from paper wherever possible: copy ten questions from a practice paper into an exercise book while you have power and data, then work through them by lamp or torch if you must. Second, plan revision for early evening, after the heat drops. Our exam-week mini-papers are short, about 15 minutes, so they fit a single charge of a shared phone.
Picking The Right Topics
What to revise now lists the topics for Grade 6 and Grade 9 subject by subject. Go through it with your child and ask a simple question for each: “If this came up tomorrow, how would you feel?” The topics that get a groan are this week’s work. For Grade 9, do not leave out Kiswahili; for many learners it is where steady practice moves the level up most.
Thinking Ahead To Grade 10
Junior school is now part of primary schools, so most Kisumu learners take KJSEA where they took KPSEA. In January 2027 they move to senior school, where placement follows the pathway they chose: STEM, Social Sciences, or Arts and Sports Science. Families in the region often weigh well-known boarding schools in Nyanza and beyond against day schools closer to home. Before you decide, read the CBC pathways guide together, and try the KJSEA grade calculator so you understand the levels and points. Our pathway report puts the options in writing if you want more help.
Free First, Paid If You Need It
The tools above are free. For complete practice, the KJSEA Grade 9 revision book is KSh 250 and the KPSEA Grade 6 revision book is KSh 200. The Monthly Pass, KSh 500, unlocks every paper; December holiday packs are KSh 120 for each grade from 4 to 9. Payment is by M-Pesa (pricing). There is one price and no per-topic charges, and every question is checked by a teacher, as explained on how we check questions. CBC Guides is an independent revision site, not KNEC or KICD.
Sunday 25 October
No new topics on the last day. Check the timetable, pack the bag, lay out the uniform, eat a good supper and sleep early. Confidence on Monday comes from the week’s work, not from a late night.
Teachers can make end-of-term reports with the free CBC report card maker. For other places, see CBC revision near you.