Who this is for
- Parents and teachers of Grade 6 learners preparing for KPSEA Integrated Science 2026.
- The paper is on Tuesday 27 October 2026, 8.30 a.m. to 10.10 a.m.: one hour 40 minutes, joint longest of the five KPSEA papers (KNEC 2026 KPSEA timetable).
- The plan covers Friday 16 to Sunday 25 October, about 40 minutes of science a day, with one full paper on Sunday 18 October.
KPSEA Integrated Science is the paper that covers the most ground. It brings several upper primary learning areas into a single 100-minute sitting, so the final ten days of KPSEA Integrated Science revision cannot be "read all the notes again". There is simply too much. What works instead is a strand-by-strand sweep of the facts that are asked again and again (the parts of a flower, the food groups, conductors and insulators, simple machines, soil types), one full paper sat at real length to build stamina, and careful marking that sends your child back to exactly the strands that are still weak.
This guide sets out what the paper draws on, a ten-day plan, a strand checklist with the classic traps, original practice items with answers, and a routine for using predictive papers on a long paper. All dates and rules come from the KNEC 2026 KPSEA Timetable, Instructions and Guidelines.
Information current as of Term 3, October 2026.
Key takeaways
- KPSEA Integrated Science is 100 minutes on Tuesday 27 October, from 8.30 a.m. It is a quarter of all KPSEA assessment time.
- It is multiple choice, shaded in pencil, and it covers a broad mix: Science and Technology plus the agriculture, nutrition and home science content of upper primary.
- In the last ten days, sweep one strand per evening and drill the facts that are asked most often. Do not reread whole notebooks.
- Sit one full 100-minute paper on Sunday 18 October at 8.30 a.m. Stamina is a real issue on this paper.
- Many items describe a situation or a diagram. Teach your child to read the whole stem before looking at the options.
What KPSEA Integrated Science 2026 covers
When KPSEA was first sat in 2022, Citizen Digital reported that the Integrated Science paper combined Home Science, Agriculture, Science and Technology, and Physical and Health Education, and that every KPSEA paper was multiple choice. Since then the upper primary curriculum has been rationalised. As People Daily reported in December 2023, upper primary was cut to eight learning areas and 35 lessons a week; Agriculture was combined with Home Science aspects into a single learning area, Agriculture and Nutrition, and Physical Education became part of Creative Arts.
| Content | 2022 description (Citizen Digital) | After rationalisation (People Daily, Dec 2023) |
|---|---|---|
| Science and Technology | In Integrated Science | Learning area: Science and Technology |
| Agriculture | In Integrated Science | Merged with Home Science aspects: Agriculture and Nutrition |
| Home Science | In Integrated Science | Part of Agriculture and Nutrition |
| Physical and Health Education | In Integrated Science | Physical Education now part of Creative Arts |
We have not seen a KNEC document giving a 2026 breakdown of how many items come from each area, so treat any exact split you read online with caution. The safe reading is this: prepare Science and Technology thoroughly, and give real time to the agriculture, nutrition and home science content too. Our guide to what to expect in KPSEA Integrated Science has more on the paper's style.
KNEC's timetable gives the standard and large print Integrated Science papers 1 hour 40 minutes, from 8.30 a.m. to 10.10 a.m.; the Braille paper runs to 10.40 a.m. Candidates must be seated 15 minutes before the start, so by 8.15 a.m. Kiswahili follows at 11.10 a.m.
The ten-day KPSEA Integrated Science revision plan
| Day | Science focus | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Fri 16 Oct | Living things: plants (photosynthesis, parts of a flower, seed dispersal), animal life cycles | 40 min |
| Sat 17 Oct | Afternoon only (Day 1 papers in the morning): the human body (digestion and teeth, breathing, circulation, excretion) | 25 min |
| Sun 18 Oct | Day 2 copy: predictive Integrated Science paper 1 at 8.30 a.m., 100 minutes (Kiswahili at 11.10 a.m.). Mark after lunch, labelling every error by strand | 100 + 40 min |
| Mon 19 Oct | Matter (states, mixtures and separating them) and the environment (soil, water, weather instruments) | 40 min |
| Tue 20 Oct | Force and energy: simple machines, conductors and insulators, light, sound, magnets, electrical safety | 40 min |
| Wed 21 Oct | Agriculture and nutrition: crops and animal care, food groups, deficiency diseases, food hygiene and preservation | 40 min |
| Thu 22 Oct | Sunday's weakest strand again; digital technology safety; labelling diagrams | 40 min |
| Fri 23 Oct | Rehearsal day. In the evening, ten quick diagram questions only | 15 min |
| Sat 24 Oct | Afternoon: half of predictive paper 2 (50 minutes), after the morning's Creative Arts and Social Studies paper | 50 + 20 min |
| Sun 25 Oct | Mistakes book only; pack the bag; early night | 20 min |
How the weekend mornings fit together
Our five final-ten-days KPSEA guides, one per paper, share the same weekend plan. Each weekend morning copies one real KPSEA day, at the real times from the KNEC timetable, so a family following all five guides never has two full papers clashing.
| Practice morning | Copies | Papers and times |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday 17 October | Day 1 (Monday 26 October) | Mathematics 8.30 to 9.50 a.m.; English 10.50 to 11.50 a.m. |
| Sunday 18 October | Day 2 (Tuesday 27 October) | Integrated Science 8.30 to 10.10 a.m.; Kiswahili 11.10 a.m. to 12.10 p.m. |
| Saturday 24 October | Day 3 (Wednesday 28 October) | Creative Arts and Social Studies 8.30 to 10.10 a.m. |
| Sunday 25 October | Rest | Mistakes books only, bag packed, early night |
Strand checklist: the facts to lock in and the traps to avoid
Use this table for the weekday sessions. Your child should be able to say each "must know" fact without notes by Thursday 22 October. The trap column lists the wrong option that most often looks right.
| Strand | Must know | Classic trap |
|---|---|---|
| Plants | Leaves make food using sunlight, water and carbon dioxide, giving out oxygen. Stamen (anther, filament) is male; pistil (stigma, style, ovary) is female | Saying plants take in oxygen to make food |
| Animal life cycles | Complete: egg, larva, pupa, adult (butterfly, housefly). Incomplete: egg, nymph, adult (grasshopper, cockroach) | Giving a grasshopper a pupa stage |
| Human body | Incisors cut, canines tear, premolars and molars grind. The heart pumps blood; arteries carry blood away from the heart, veins towards it. Kidneys remove waste as urine | Mixing up arteries and veins |
| Food chains | Every chain starts with a green plant (producer). Arrows point to the eater | Drawing arrows from the eater to the eaten |
| Matter | Solids keep shape and volume; liquids keep volume, take the container's shape; gases fill the container. Filter sand from water; evaporate water to get salt; a magnet separates iron filings | Choosing filtering to separate salt from water |
| Environment | Rain gauge measures rainfall; wind vane shows wind direction; thermometer measures temperature. Clay holds most water, sand drains fastest, loam is best for most crops | Saying a wind vane measures wind speed |
| Force and energy | Metals conduct heat and electricity; plastic, wood and rubber insulate. Like magnetic poles repel, unlike poles attract. Sound comes from vibrations. Light travels in straight lines | Saying like poles attract |
| Simple machines | A lever has a fulcrum, a load and an effort. A ramp (inclined plane) makes lifting easier over a longer distance | Confusing the fulcrum with the load |
| Nutrition | Carbohydrates give energy (ugali, rice); proteins build the body (beans, eggs, fish); vitamins and minerals protect (fruit, vegetables). Lack of protein: kwashiorkor; lack of vitamin C: scurvy; lack of iron: anaemia | Calling beans an energy-giving food first |
| Food and farm safety | Food is preserved by drying, smoking, salting and cooling. Wash hands before handling food. Clean and store tools after use | Picking an unsafe "quick" option in a situation question |
| Digital technology | Never share passwords; tell a trusted adult about unkind messages; take breaks from screens | Choosing the option that "replies" to a stranger online |
Each row is a sub-strand learners have met across Grades 4 to 6. For notes and diagrams on each, see our Grade 6 Science and Technology revision guide.
Original KPSEA Integrated Science practice items with answers
These items were written for this guide in the KPSEA multiple-choice style. Use two or three each weekday evening. For a longer set with full answers, try our free KPSEA Integrated Science sample questions.
1. Which part of a flower receives pollen grains during pollination? A. Anther B. Stigma C. Petal D. Filament
2. Which of these animals goes through a pupa stage? A. Grasshopper B. Cockroach C. Housefly D. Frog
3. Akinyi wants to get salt back from salty water. Which method should she use? A. Filtering B. Sieving C. Evaporation D. Using a magnet
4. Which teeth are used for grinding food? A. Incisors B. Canines C. Molars D. Milk teeth only
5. In the food chain grass → antelope → lion, the producer is: A. lion B. antelope C. grass D. the sun
6. Kipchoge holds a metal spoon in hot tea. The handle soon feels hot. This is because metal is a good: A. insulator of heat B. conductor of heat C. source of light D. reflector of sound
7. Which soil holds the most water? A. Sand B. Loam C. Clay D. Gravel
8. A learner at Baraka's school has swollen legs and a swollen belly and eats mostly ugali with little else. Which food group is most likely missing? A. Carbohydrates B. Proteins C. Fats D. Water
9. Two magnets are placed with their north poles facing each other. What happens? A. They attract B. They repel C. They lose magnetism D. Nothing
10. Which instrument shows the direction from which the wind is blowing? A. Rain gauge B. Thermometer C. Wind vane D. Barometer
11. Which of these is the safest way to keep fish from going bad on a farm without electricity? A. Leaving it in the sun uncovered B. Smoking or drying it C. Keeping it in water D. Wrapping it in a plastic bag overnight
12. Mwangi receives a message online from someone he does not know asking for his password. He should: A. send it quickly B. send half of it C. not reply and tell a trusted adult D. change his name
Answers and reasons
1. B. The stigma is the sticky top of the pistil that receives pollen. The anther produces pollen.
2. C. Houseflies have complete metamorphosis (egg, larva, pupa, adult). Grasshoppers and cockroaches have no pupa.
3. C. Salt dissolves, so it passes through a filter. Evaporating the water leaves the salt behind.
4. C. Molars (and premolars) grind; incisors cut; canines tear.
5. C. Grass makes its own food, so it is the producer. The sun supplies energy but is not part of the chain as a living thing.
6. B. Heat travels through the metal to the handle because metal conducts heat.
7. C. Clay has tiny particles and small spaces, so it holds water longest.
8. B. Swelling with a diet of mostly starch suggests kwashiorkor, caused by too little protein.
9. B. Like poles repel.
10. C. A wind vane shows wind direction. A rain gauge measures rainfall.
11. B. Smoking and drying remove moisture, which slows the growth of germs.
12. C. Passwords are never shared, and a trusted adult should know about the message.
Notice how many items describe a person in a situation (Akinyi, Kipchoge, Mwangi). These questions test whether a learner can apply a fact, not just recite it. The habit to teach is: read the whole stem, decide what science idea it is about, then look at the options.
Using a KPSEA Integrated Science predictive paper on a 100-minute paper
On a long, wide paper, a predictive paper does two jobs: it builds the stamina to stay sharp for 100 minutes, and it shows which strands are still weak. Here is the routine for Sunday 18 October.
- Start at 8.30 a.m. and run the full 100 minutes. No breaks, no help, pencil and answer grid only. Call out "50 minutes left" and "10 minutes left".
- Watch for the fade. After marking, compare errors in the first half with the second half of the paper. If the second half has clearly more, stamina is the issue, and Saturday 24 October's half-paper should be done at the same pace.
- Label every wrong answer by strand: living things, human body, environment, matter, force and energy, digital, agriculture, nutrition. Count them.
- Move the weekday plan. If one strand has twice as many errors as any other, give it Thursday's session as well as its own day.
- Mark with the separate answer booklet, kept from your child until the paper is done. Our separate answer key method explains why.
Remember that a predictive paper is original practice in the KPSEA format, written to cover sub-strands that are commonly assessed. It is not an official KNEC paper and not a leak, and no honest provider can promise which questions will appear on Tuesday 27 October.
One learner's ten days
Take Amina, a Grade 6 learner in Garissa (a made-up example). On Sunday 18 October she sits the full Integrated Science paper. She gets most of the first half right, but her errors double after the 60-minute mark, and five of them are in agriculture and nutrition, which her family had not revised at all. Her teacher's advice and the strand labels agree: stamina and one neglected strand. On Wednesday she goes through food groups and deficiency diseases with her mother, using the family's own meals as examples: ugali for energy, beans for body building, sukuma wiki for protection. On Thursday she revisits the strand again and adds three rows to her mistakes book. On Saturday 24 October she sits half of a second paper in 50 minutes and keeps her accuracy to the end. Her science knowledge grew a little; her ability to last 100 minutes grew a lot.
Common mistakes to avoid in the last ten days
- Rereading the whole notebook. There is not enough time. Sweep one strand per evening using the checklist above.
- Skipping agriculture and nutrition. It is part of what upper primary learners study, and it sits naturally in this paper.
- Never practising the full 100 minutes. At 100 minutes, the paper is longer than a football match. Sit it once at full length.
- Reading the options before the stem. Situation questions hide the key fact in the stem.
- Using a pen. KNEC's instructions say shade the answer sheet with a pencil, not a fountain or biro pen. See our answer sheet shading guide.
- A late Monday night. Integrated Science starts at 8.30 a.m. on Tuesday 27 October, the day after two papers. Sleep matters more than a last look at notes.
Resources for the final ten days
Free first: the items above, our sample questions, school past papers and the free KPSEA Mini-Mock. For full papers, the KPSEA Grade 6 Integrated Science revision pack has notes for Grades 4 to 6 covering Science and Technology, Agriculture and Nutrition and home science content, three predictive papers in the KPSEA multiple-choice format with answer grids, and a separate answer booklet. The KPSEA Complete Revision Course covers all five papers. These are original CBC Edu Kenya practice papers, not official or leaked KNEC papers. To make facts stick in the last days, our guide to revising so it sticks explains quick self-testing. Somo, our CBC AI tutor, can explain any science idea simply, and the Grade 6 hub has more notes for this class.
Frequently asked questions
When is KPSEA Integrated Science 2026?
Tuesday 27 October 2026, 8.30 a.m. to 10.10 a.m., according to the KNEC 2026 KPSEA timetable. Kiswahili follows at 11.10 a.m.
How long is the Integrated Science paper?
One hour 40 minutes (100 minutes) for standard and large print papers. The Braille paper runs to 10.40 a.m.
What does KPSEA Integrated Science cover?
Science and Technology, plus the agriculture, nutrition and home science content of upper primary. In 2022 Citizen Digital reported that the paper combined Home Science, Agriculture, Science and Technology, and Physical and Health Education. After the rationalisation reported in December 2023, Agriculture and Home Science aspects became Agriculture and Nutrition, and Physical Education moved into Creative Arts.
Is KPSEA Integrated Science multiple choice?
Yes. All KPSEA papers are multiple choice, shaded in pencil on a personalised answer sheet.
Are there practicals in KPSEA Integrated Science?
Not in the assessment room. Practical skills are tested through questions that describe an experiment, a diagram or a situation, so practise reading those carefully.
What should my child revise the night before?
The mistakes book and the strand checklist above, for about 30 minutes on Monday evening, 26 October. Then sleep. Our KPSEA timetable, paper by paper lists what to reread before each paper.
How many Grade 6 learners sit KPSEA?
In 2024, 1,303,913 candidates sat KPSEA across 35,573 centres, according to The Star.
Conclusion
KPSEA Integrated Science is wide and long: a quarter of all KPSEA assessment time, covering science, agriculture, nutrition and home science content. In the final ten days, do not try to reread everything. Sweep one strand an evening with the checklist, sit one full 100-minute paper on Sunday 18 October at 8.30 a.m., label every error by strand, and move your weekday sessions to the strands that need them. A half-paper on Saturday 24 October checks the stamina. On Tuesday 27 October your child should know what 100 minutes feels like and which facts they own. For full papers and answer explanations, see the KPSEA Integrated Science pack.
Further reading
Grade 6 KPSEA Complete Revision Course
All 5 subjects with notes, worked examples, questions and marking schemes. Rebuilt for the 26 to 28 October assessment.
⏳ Only 9 days to the national assessments on 26 October. Start now.
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