Last reviewed: 24 October 2026
From Monday 26 October 2026, Grade 6 learners sit KPSEA and Grade 9 learners sit KJSEA. Papers start at 8.30 am every day, and candidates must be seated 15 minutes earlier. What happens at home in the evenings and mornings can make a real difference to how alert a child is in the room. This is a simple plan most families can follow.
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The Shape of the Week
- KPSEA (Grade 6): Monday 26 to Wednesday 28 October, one or two papers a day, finishing by midday.
- KJSEA (Grade 9): Monday 26 to Friday 30 October. Thursday and Friday each have three papers, ending at 3.40 pm and 3.00 pm.
See the full KJSEA timetable and our KPSEA day-by-day guide.
Sleep
Children aged 11 to 15 generally need more sleep than adults, and a tired child reads questions less carefully. Work backwards from the time your child must leave home. If the journey takes 30 minutes and they must be seated by 8.15 am, aim to leave by 7.30 am, wake by 6.15 am, and be in bed early enough the night before to get a full night’s rest. Keep the same times all week, including the weekend before.
Screens in the bedroom tend to push sleep later. Agree a time when phones and televisions go off, and stick to it. Phones are banned in the exam room anyway, so this is a good week to put them away.
Breakfast and Lunch
Choose foods your child already eats and tolerates well; exam week is not the time for something new. A breakfast with some protein and slow-release starch, such as eggs with bread, porridge with milk, or githeri, will last longer than sweet tea alone. On the two long KJSEA days, Thursday and Friday, there is a lunch break before the afternoon paper. Check what the school provides and send a snack or water if allowed.
The Evening Routine
- Rest first. Let your child relax for an hour after school.
- Short, light revision. Thirty to forty-five minutes on the next day’s subjects, mostly going over mistakes, not new topics.
- Kit check. Pens, pencils, eraser, ruler, geometry set and any documents the school asked for.
- Talk, briefly. Ask how the day went and listen. Avoid going through every answer.
- Lights out at the agreed time.
The Morning Routine
- Wake at the same time each day.
- Eat before leaving, even if the appetite is small.
- Double-check that there is no phone in the school bag.
- Leave early enough to arrive calmly. A candidate more than half an hour late is only given a paper in exceptional circumstances.
If You Have Two Candidates
Families with both a Grade 6 and a Grade 9 child have overlapping mornings from Monday to Wednesday. Prepare both sets of kit the night before and plan transport so neither child is rushed.
Keeping Revision Light
A short daily practice is enough this week. Our exam countdown gives five free questions a day, and the What to Revise report shows the topics worth a second look. If your child wants full timed papers, the Monthly Pass costs KSh 500 by M-Pesa and covers every learning area.
Ten-minute check: try the free Grade 6 CBC Challenge. It has 10 questions, each marked on the spot with the working, and it shows which topics to practise next.