Low-key celebration engulfed the big shots in the previous Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination results.

Confusion reigned in the majority of the schools with security officers authorised not to allow the media past the school gate.

At Kenya High School, Nairobi which emerged as position 2 in 2021 KCSE results after posting 10.42, this year candidates received their results amid uncertainty created by the school administration locking anyone from accessing the school compound.

This was contrary to the previous years when teachers would join students in songs and dance to celebrate the good grades.

Parents who had accompanied their children to the school had to accept the reality and address the media some metres away from the school entrance.

At Pangani Girls, which has in the past produced the top candidate in the country, the school was deserted with the pupils staying away from their schools.

All attempts to reach the school principal on her mobile phone were fruitful with the school gate remaining closed.

In the very scattered incidents where celebrations rented the air, it was low keyed with no one being quite sure of the school performance.

Typically, schools like St. Georges Girls School that usually performed well and ranked top would be a beehive of activity.

Twigs and jigs would be witnessed in every corner of the compound amid ululation to celebrate the victory.

National examination results have in the past been marked with anxiety with students, their loved ones and their teachers waiting to see the outcome of several years of intense study and hard work.

Another school that in the past displayed a near obsession with neither doing anything to salvage their face is Starehe Boys Centre whose fortunes have continued to dwindle in the past years.

By Friday, it was not clear who was the best candidate from the schools or the school mean score.

A break from the past when the schools would break into songs and dance to celebrate their top performance.

Until last year, scenes of excitement after the release of examination results were commonplace.

As other schools celebrate, and the competition continues to intensify, it was not clear to envisage a future which doesn’t see these disparities continuing to trickle and hit the reality roof to the giants, as new ones continue to emerge.