Grade 10 Senior School Placement Review Window Reopens as Thousands Seek Better School Choices

Learners unhappy with their initial Grade 10 Senior School placement review outcomes will get another chance to rethink their school choices beginning next week, the Ministry of Education has announced, offering renewed hope to thousands of families anxious about the transition to senior school.

Grade 10 Senior School Placement Review: What Learners and Parents Need to Know

In a statement issued on Tuesday, December 30, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said the second Grade 10 Senior School placement review window will run from Tuesday, January 6, to Friday, January 9. This follows the completion of the first review process, whose results were released on Monday, December 29.

According to the ministry, demand during the first Grade 10 Senior School placement review was overwhelming. A total of 355,457 learners applied for reconsideration, with 211,636 applications approved. The remaining requests were declined mainly due to limited school capacity or the unavailability of preferred subject combinations in the selected schools.

“Learners were allowed the opportunity to apply for review of the initial placement from December 23, 2025. The processing of review applications was concluded on December 29, 2025, and the results are now available on the placement portal,” Ogamba said.

He explained that competition for top national schools remains intense, noting that some institutions received tens of thousands of applications despite having limited spaces. “There were, for example, up to 20,000 applications for schools like Alliance High School, Kenya High School and Mang’u High School, against an average capacity of about 500 slots,” he said.

Despite the pressure, the ministry says the Grade 10 Senior School placement review process has largely been successful, with 88 per cent of learners placed in line with either their original or revised selections. Learners whose reviews were approved can now access their joining instructions through the ministry’s placement portals.

The ministry has directed that all learners report to their respective senior schools starting January 12, marking a major milestone in the new education structure.

Ogamba announced the 2025 Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) results on December 11, followed by the release of Grade 10 placement results on December 19. A total of 1,130,459 learners sat the examination, comprising 578,630 boys and 551,829 girls.

President William Ruto has since assured parents and learners that the government is fully prepared to support the transition. Speaking on December 20, the Head of State said more than KSh44 billion in capitation funds has been released and will reach schools before reporting begins.

Ruto reiterated the government’s commitment to ensuring a smooth transition for the more than 1.1 million learners moving to senior school and warned against politicising the Grade 10 Senior School placement review process, stressing that the focus must remain on learners’ futures.

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