Discipline, teamwork, early syllabus coverage and creating sufficient time for revision are among the reasons that has kept St.Mathias Kholera on top.
Other reasons include character formation, involving teachers and parents in student welfare, a strong religious foundation and prayers.
Under the headship of soft spoken Principal Mr Zachary Momanyi, St.Mathias Kholera Boys High School has been building on the success so far achieved and improving on areas of weakness to achieve the top position in Kakamega County, which was a reserve of the few schools over the years competing at the top.
Mr Momanyi says hard work is the secret to the school’s success.
“One has to obey and work hard. However, obedience to hard work is blind at times and requires the suspension of the reason for one to succeed,” he says.
The principal says his staff equally burn the midnight oil in preparing the candidates at the heart of Matungu Constituency to excel at the top.
He said his teachers have changed tact and adopted new strategies in teaching “methods” students differ in their performance at the end to improve their basic understanding of their subjects.
The school was position one with a mean of 6.1 with the largest number of students who acquired direct entry to Public universities.
“Our school has been on the upward trend for a couple of years,” he said.
He added, “This is a very hot seat and also exciting, but very demanding, bearing in mind that we must produce better results every year.”
Asked about his vision while still the school principal, he said he intended the school to produce brilliant, disciplined and God-fearing students.
The culture of excelling every year pushes the next class to do even better because no one wants to be a let-down and that makes management easy.
Mr Momanyi has an inspirational story.
When he took over the school, the teachers and students morale had dropped to an all-time low with a poor academic record since the schools structural facilities had won out and with few toilets on the school compound that had sunk.
With an equivocal co-operation from parents and the community Mr.Momanyi refused to sit pretty and watch as the ghost of poverty presided over the pursuit for success at Kholera Boys High school.
Despite the hardships at St.Mathias Kholera Boys High School, what strikes you most is Mr.Momanyi’s ability to perfect the zeal to jealously guard the pride of place. Any casual observer would notice without doubt that the academic wheel has come full circle.
Now the school has carved a niche to achieve the associated benefits for its students and staff which has continued to mark good results by extensively competing other prominent schools in the national and regional categories.
The principal also disclosed that teachers are always in the compound day and night and students always engage in co-curriculum activities, have family units organised by guiding and counselling masters.
He added that with a supportive board of management, Parents Teachers Association and a principal who is always in school , they expect excellent results.
Their strength is in languages, sciences and mathematics.
“We understand that discipline is the cornerstone to any success. I am happy to say that there has been improved discipline in this school and no doubt, students at Kholera Boys High School are beginning to reap its fruits,” he posed.
The school encourages and rewards self-discipline whereby students work without much supervision.
“Doing the right thing at the right time and at the right place sums up self-discipline. It is this self-discipline that has enabled our school to shine academically and in co-curricula activities,” Momanyi said.
Fellow students guide and counsel those who may not be towing the line.
This is done through student leaders who form a hierarchy that ensures free-flow of communication between the administration and the students.
Discipline therefore is everybody’s responsibility, with each student being his brother’s keeper.
“My office, however, invites parents and guardians to sort out indiscipline cases that impede academic performance,” he added.
