The rehearsal for KPSEA and KJSEA is on Friday 23 October 2026. It is also the day schools close for Term 3. The written papers begin on Monday 26 October: KPSEA runs 26 to 28 October and KJSEA 26 to 30 October, with the first session at 8.30am.
Many families treat rehearsal day as a half day that does not matter. It is the opposite. It is the only day in exam week with nothing to lose, and it is where small problems show up while there is still a weekend to fix them.
What happens on rehearsal day
Arrangements vary from centre to centre, but rehearsal day usually covers the practical side of the exam rather than any content. Your child can expect some or all of the following:
- Finding the room. Many candidates sit in a different room from their usual class, sometimes at a different school.
- Seating. Candidates learn where they sit, which is often in assessment number order.
- Checking details. Names and assessment numbers are confirmed. A spelling error found now is easy to raise. One found later is not.
- Instructions. How to enter the room, what may be carried, what to do when they finish early, and how to fill in answer sheets.
- Timing. When to arrive each morning and how the day is broken up.
This year there are 1,380,463 KPSEA candidates and 1,206,028 KJSEA candidates. Centres are handling large numbers, so the instructions given on Friday are the ones that will be enforced on Monday.
What to ask your child when they get home
Do not ask "how was it?" Ask specific questions, because the answers tell you whether anything needs sorting before Monday:
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Which room and which seat are you in? | If they cannot say, they were not paying attention, or the centre has not confirmed yet |
| Was your name spelt correctly? | Errors should be reported to the class teacher straight away |
| What is your assessment number? | Write it down at home, in two places |
| What time must you be there on Monday? | Plan the journey backwards from that time, not from 8.30am |
| What were you told not to bring? | Phones, smart watches and notes are the usual ones |
| Did anything worry you? | Small worries are easier to settle on a Friday than on a Monday morning |
If any answer is unclear, phone the class teacher or the school on Friday afternoon. Over the weekend, schools are closed and teachers are harder to reach.
The night before rehearsal day
Thursday night is a practice run for every night of exam week. Use it that way.
Pack the exam kit as if it were Monday. Two sharpened HB pencils, a clean eraser, a sharpener, two blue or black pens and a ruler. KJSEA candidates should add a calculator with working batteries. Our full list of what to carry and what is not allowed covers the details.
Set the real alarm. Wake your child at the time they will need to wake on Monday, not the time they usually wake on a Friday. If that turns out to be too early or too late, you will know before it matters.
Do light revision only. There are no papers on Friday. An hour going over the first Monday subject is plenty. Avoid starting anything new.
Lay out the uniform. Clean, ironed and ready. Rehearsal day is also the last day of term, so check nothing is left at school that will be needed in exam week.
Go to bed at the exam week time. The body clock needs a few nights to settle, and Thursday is a good place to start.
The weekend between rehearsal and Monday
Saturday and Sunday are the last two days before the papers. They are best used gently:
- Fix anything rehearsal day revealed: a missing number, a broken calculator, a worry about the room.
- Revise the first two days' papers, in the order they will be sat. Our KPSEA timetable, paper by paper shows the order for Grade 6.
- Keep Sunday evening calm and early. No visitors, no late television, no new topics.
The last 72 hours parent checklist walks through Friday to Monday hour by hour if you want a fuller plan.
Plan the Monday journey on Friday
Rehearsal day is the best chance to time the real journey. Note when your child left home and when they arrived at the centre. Then add a margin. Monday morning in exam week is busier than a normal Friday, because every family with a candidate is on the road at the same time.
If you have two candidates, say a Grade 6 sitting KPSEA and a Grade 9 sitting KJSEA, and they sit at different centres, decide on Friday who takes whom. Agree a back-up plan for a late matatu or a car that will not start. Parents who sort this out over the weekend have far calmer Monday mornings.
If your child is anxious after rehearsal
Seeing the exam room, the seating and the strict instructions can make the exam feel suddenly real. Some children come home quieter than usual. That is normal. Let them talk, keep the evening ordinary, and remind them that everything they were shown is designed to make Monday predictable, not frightening. A child who knows exactly where to sit and what to do has fewer things to worry about, not more.
Frequently asked questions
When is the KPSEA and KJSEA 2026 rehearsal?
Friday 23 October 2026, which is also the last day of Term 3. The written papers start on Monday 26 October.
Are there any papers on rehearsal day?
No. Rehearsal day is for instructions, rooms, seating and checking candidate details. No assessed papers are sat.
Should my child attend rehearsal day?
Yes. It is where they learn their room, seat and arrival time, and where errors in names or assessment numbers can be caught in time.
What should my child carry on rehearsal day?
Treat it as a practice run and carry the full exam kit, unless the school has said otherwise. It is a good test of whether anything is missing.
For the final weekend of revision, the KJSEA Complete Revision Course covers all nine Grade 9 learning areas, and the KPSEA Complete Bundle covers every Grade 6 paper.
Grade 9 KJSEA Complete Revision Course
All 9 learning areas in one download: notes, worked examples, topical questions and full marking schemes. Rebuilt for the 26 to 30 October assessment.
⏳ Only 16 days to the national assessments on 26 October. Start now.
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