Grade 10 December Holiday Revision Plan: The 4 Core Subjects

Every Grade 10 learner in Kenya, whatever their pathway, takes seven subjects. Four of them are core and shared by everyone: English, Kiswahili (or Kenyan Sign Language), Mathematics (Core Mathematics in STEM, Essential Mathematics in the other pathways) and Community Service Learning (CSL). The other three are pathway subjects. That shared core is the obvious place to start a Grade 10 December holiday revision plan, because it is where every learner, in every school, will build again in Grade 11.

This plan covers those four core subjects over ten weeks. It is built on the strands in the KICD Grade 10 curriculum designs, it leaves the first week and Christmas week free, and it asks for about ten hours a week at most. For the three pathway subjects, see our companion guide to revising pathway subjects over December, and for Mathematics in more depth, our strand-by-strand Mathematics holiday guide.

Information current as of the end of Term 3, October 2026. Strand names follow the KICD Grade 10 curriculum designs dated June 2024; your school may use a later rationalised version.

Key takeaways

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• The four core subjects are English, Kiswahili or KSL, Mathematics and CSL (KICD notice, 23 December 2025). ICT skills and a pastoral programme are timetabled for all, but they are not core subjects.
• The KICD Grade 10 English design has four strands and 180 suggested lessons: Listening and Speaking (64), Reading (36), Grammar in Use (40) and Writing (40).
• The plan runs eight working weeks, from 2 November to 20 December, with week 1 for rest and week 10 for getting ready for Grade 11.
• About two hours a day, five days a week. Weekends and Christmas are free.
• Every session ends with something written down: a corrected answer, a paragraph, a summary or a journal entry.

The four core subjects in Grade 10, strand by strand

Before planning revision, it helps to know how each core subject is organised. KICD curriculum designs divide each subject into strands (the big areas) and sub-strands (the smaller units your child was taught). The table below summarises the Grade 10 core subjects from the KICD designs.

Mathematics strand names above are from the KICD Grade 10 Mathematics design; Essential Mathematics follows the same three broad strands at a level aimed at everyday use. If your child is unsure which design their teacher used, the KICD Grade 10 curriculum designs guide lists them by subject.

The 10-week Grade 10 December holiday revision plan

Here is the whole holiday on one page. Each working week has a focus for each core subject. Sessions are about 30 minutes each, so a day with all four subjects is two hours. Print it and stick it somewhere visible.

The Kiswahili column uses everyday revision labels rather than exact KICD sub-strand names, because schools teach sarufi and insha in different orders. Ask your child to match each week to their own exercise book.

How to run each Grade 10 core subject session

English (30 minutes)

Ten minutes of reading aloud, ten minutes of the week's grammar or writing focus, ten minutes of correction. In Grammar in Use, the KICD design moves from word classes to phrases, clauses and sentence structure, so the holiday order follows the same path. A quick check: in the sentence "The girl who won the debate is my cousin", can your child find the relative clause (who won the debate) and say which noun it describes (girl)? If yes, move on. If not, that is the week's work.

For writing, the design includes descriptive and narrative essays and functional writing such as simple reports, memos and emails. Each week, write one full piece by hand, then improve it. Planning for five minutes before writing usually lifts the result more than learning new vocabulary.

Kiswahili (30 minutes)

Short daily sarufi practice works better than one long session. Ten minutes of sarufi, fifteen minutes of ufahamu or insha, five minutes reading the corrections aloud. Insha should be written in full at least twice before January. Learners who use Kenyan Sign Language should practise with recorded signing and a partner where possible.

Mathematics (30 minutes)

Redo questions from the exercise book that were wrong the first time, showing every step. Here is the kind of question week 2 targets:

Core Mathematics learners should push on to harder logarithm and quadratic questions; Essential Mathematics learners should spend more time on applied questions with money, measurement and data. Both are core, and both matter equally for the learner taking them.

Community Service Learning (30 minutes, twice a week)

CSL is the core subject most often forgotten over the holiday, and the easiest to keep alive. The KICD design builds CSL around Citizenship, Life Skills, Action Research and Social Entrepreneurship, and it teaches the action research cycle as plan, act, observe, reflect. A holiday version: notice one small need at home or in the neighbourhood, plan one small action, do it, write down what happened, and reflect on it in a journal. Nothing needs to be big or expensive. The habit of recording evidence is what carries into Grade 11.

One learner's holiday, week by week

Take Baraka, a Grade 10 learner in the Arts and Sports Science pathway in Machakos (a made-up example). His Essential Mathematics was weak, his English writing was strong, and his CSL group had a thin logbook. His parents agree a rule: two hours a day, Monday to Friday, before lunch, with football in the afternoon. In week 2 he gets four of ten indices questions wrong, writes the corrections in red, and redoes them on Friday. In week 3 he notices that the water point near his home has a broken tap that wastes water every evening, writes it in his CSL journal, and by week 5 he and his younger sister have reported it to the chief's office and tied a temporary seal on it. That is his CSL action research cycle in miniature. In week 8 he writes a timed composition and a timed insha. By 1 January he has a red-pen corrections book, a CSL journal with dated entries, and two essays he is proud of. None of it took more than ten hours a week.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Revising only the pathway subjects. The core subjects are shared by every learner and carry into Grade 11. Give them their own time.
• Skipping Mathematics because "my pathway is not STEM". Mathematics is a core subject for every Grade 10 learner. Essential Mathematics is still Mathematics.
• Treating ICT or the pastoral programme as core subjects. They are timetabled for everyone but are not among the four core subjects. Do not let them crowd out English, Kiswahili, Mathematics and CSL.
• Reading notes without writing. Every session should produce something on paper.
• Studying every day of the holiday. Rest in week 1 and Christmas week. A learner who arrives in January tired has wasted the holiday.
• Buying unapproved books for Grade 11. KICD has warned that only approved textbooks should be used. Wait for the school's list.

Where to find the material

The notes for each core subject are in our Grade 10 notes by pathway, and timed practice is in the Grade 10 prediction papers by subject. For CSL, the Grade 10 CSL project guide explains the evidence and reflection that score well. Everything for this class is on the Grade 10 study hub. If your child gets stuck on a grammar rule or a Mathematics step, Somo, our CBC AI tutor, answers in English or Kiswahili at any hour. For families who prefer guided sessions, our holiday coaching page explains the options.

Frequently asked questions

What are the core subjects in Grade 10?

English, Kiswahili (or Kenyan Sign Language), Mathematics and Community Service Learning. STEM learners take Core Mathematics and learners in other pathways take Essential Mathematics. Every learner adds three pathway subjects, for seven in total.

How many hours should a Grade 10 learner study in the December holiday?

This plan uses about two hours a day, five days a week, over eight working weeks, plus extra time for pathway subjects if the learner wants it. Consistency matters more than long hours.

Is ICT a core subject in Grade 10?

No. ICT skills are timetabled for all learners, as is a pastoral programme, but neither is one of the four core subjects.

When does the December holiday end?

The Ministry of Education's 2026 calendar runs the holiday from 26 October 2026 to 1 January 2027. Confirm the Grade 11 opening day with your school.

Should my child revise Grade 11 work in advance?

Only once Grade 10 gaps are closed. Strong Grade 10 foundations in the core subjects matter more than a head start on Grade 11.

What if my child had no CSL project problems?

Keep the reflection journal anyway. CSL continues as a core subject, and the habit of recording evidence is useful in every subject with projects.

Conclusion

The December holiday gives a Grade 10 learner ten weeks. This plan uses eight of them for about two hours a day on the four core subjects every learner shares: English, Kiswahili or KSL, Mathematics and Community Service Learning. Follow the KICD strands, write something down in every session, keep a CSL journal, and protect the rest weeks. By 1 January your child will have closed the biggest Grade 10 gaps and will start Grade 11 with a habit rather than a resolution. Start with the Grade 10 study hub.

Sources: KICD Grade 10 English, Mathematics and Community Service Learning curriculum designs (June 2024), KICD; KICD notice of 23 December 2025 on senior school learning areas, as reported by Nairobi Leo; Ministry of Education 2026 school calendar.