KPSEA Timetable 2026: Every Grade 6 Paper, Day and Time, and What to Revise the Night Before

If you searched for the KPSEA timetable 2026, you want two things: the exact day and time of every Grade 6 paper, and a plain answer to the question every parent asks on the Sunday night, "what should my child revise tonight?" This page gives you both. The full KNEC timetable is set out first, then each evening of exam week is taken in turn: which paper comes next, the three things worth rereading that night, and what goes into the bag.

Every date and time below comes from the official 2026 KPSEA Timetable, Instructions and Guidelines (KNEC reference KNEC/TD/SE/KPSEA/TT/26/001), posted on the KNEC timetables page. For both national timetables on one page, including the Grade 9 KJSEA dates and the SBA deadline, see our official KJSEA and KPSEA 2026 calendar. If your school gives a local instruction for a particular session, the head teacher's instruction applies on the day, but the KNEC document is the authority.

The KPSEA 2026 timetable in full

Five papers, three mornings. The "seated by" column is the time KNEC's instructions require: candidates are searched and seated 15 minutes before each paper starts, and no extra time is given to anyone who arrives late.

Braille, large print and hearing impaired papers. Large print papers keep the same times. Braille papers run longer: Mathematics 8.30 to 10.20 a.m., English 10.50 a.m. to 12.10 p.m., Integrated Science 8.30 to 10.40 a.m., Kiswahili 11.10 a.m. to 12.30 p.m., and Creative Arts and Social Studies 8.30 to 10.40 a.m. The hearing impaired English paper runs 10.50 a.m. to 12.10 p.m. The school has the full KNEC list for any candidate who needs it.

The week as a timeline

The night-before plan for every paper

The evening before a paper is not the time to learn a new sub-strand. It is the time to reread a few things your child already knows, check the bag, and sleep. The table below is the whole plan on one screen; the sections after it explain each evening.

Friday 23 October: the rehearsal

The rehearsal is not a lesson day. Candidates find their room and seat, hear the instructions, and in most centres practise filling in the personalised answer sheet. Ask your child three things when they get home: which room, which seat, and what time they must be there. KPSEA papers are shaded in pencil, and KNEC's instructions say plainly that a fountain pen or biro must not be used. If your child has only ever shaded in class with a pen, the rehearsal is the moment to change the habit.

Sunday 25 October: before Mathematics and English

Mathematics opens the week at 8.30 a.m. on Monday and runs for 1 hour 20 minutes. The Grade 4 to 6 Mathematics curriculum has five strands: Numbers, Measurement, Geometry, Algebra and Data Handling, and the paper can draw on all three grades. On Sunday evening, reread three things only:

1. Fractions and decimals. Adding fractions with different denominators, changing a fraction to a decimal, and ordering them. These carry marks every year and the steps slip when a child is tired.
2. Measurement units. 1,000 m in a kilometre, 1,000 ml in a litre, 1,000 g in a kilogram, 60 minutes in an hour, and the 24-hour clock. Most wrong answers in measurement questions are a unit that was never converted.
3. Area, perimeter and money. Area of a rectangle is length times width in square units; perimeter is the distance round the outside. Work one money problem with change from KSH 1,000.

The trap on Monday morning is pace. Our KPSEA predictive papers set 30 Mathematics questions in the KNEC time of 80 minutes, which is about 2 minutes 40 seconds a question. A child who spends six minutes on one hard question pays for it at the end of the paper. Tell your child: if a question is taking too long, circle its number on the question paper, move on, and come back.

English follows at 10.50 a.m. and lasts one hour. It covers the four English strands: Listening and Speaking, Reading, Grammar in Use, and Writing, all tested through multiple choice. On Sunday, read one short comprehension passage together and practise underlining the question word (who, why, which, what does the word mean). Spend ten minutes on grammar in use: tenses, plurals and the correct preposition. That is enough. Your child should not open a new grammar rule on Sunday night.

Monday 26 October: before Integrated Science and Kiswahili

Tuesday is the long day. Integrated Science is the longest KPSEA paper at 1 hour 40 minutes, and it carries three learning areas in one booklet: Science and Technology, Agriculture and Nutrition, and Home Science. Children who "revise Science" often forget the soil, crop and food questions, which is where marks quietly go. On Monday evening, reread:

1. The human body and health. The digestive, breathing and circulatory systems, what each part does, and how common diseases such as malaria and cholera are prevented.
2. Soil, crops and food. Types of soil and which holds most water, how to conserve soil and water, the food groups and a balanced diet.
3. Energy and materials. Sources of heat and light, what magnets attract, which materials conduct electricity, and the parts of a simple circuit.

Our guide to what to expect in KPSEA Integrated Science walks through the paper in more detail. Because Tuesday runs from 8.15 a.m. to 12.10 p.m., make sure there is a proper breakfast and a small snack for the break.

Kiswahili follows at 11.10 a.m. for one hour (candidates who take Kenyan Sign Language sit that paper instead, in the same session). On Monday evening, fifteen minutes is enough: ngeli and the agreement they demand, nyakati (the tense markers -li-, -na-, -ta-, -me-), and five or six methali with their meanings. Read one short ufahamu passage aloud and answer the questions orally.

Tuesday 27 October: before Creative Arts and Social Studies

The last paper is Creative Arts and Social Studies on Wednesday, 8.30 a.m. to 10.10 a.m. It combines Social Studies, Religious Education (CRE, IRE or HRE, the one your child studies) and Creative Arts with Physical Education. On Tuesday evening, reread:

1. Maps and the compass. The eight compass points, using a key and a scale, and finding places and features on a simple map. Map questions reward the child who reads the key first.
2. Citizenship and governance. The county, the roles of leaders, children's rights and responsibilities, and national symbols.
3. Religious Education and Creative Arts. The key stories and values your child has studied, then a quick run through Creative Arts and PE terms: colours, musical instruments, and the rules of common games.

Wednesday finishes by 10.10 a.m., so plan how your child gets home or where they will be for the rest of the day.

Three mistakes that cost Grade 6 candidates marks

What to do in the weeks before the timetable starts

From today, Wednesday 30 September, there are just under four weeks to Monday 26 October. The single most useful thing a Grade 6 candidate can do in that time is sit full papers in the real KNEC times and in the real order: Mathematics then English on one morning, Integrated Science then Kiswahili on another, and Creative Arts and Social Studies on a third. Mark each paper the same day, then spend the next session on the sub-strands where marks were lost. The KPSEA countdown plan for Grade 6 breaks that into daily sessions.

That is what our KPSEA Complete Course is built for. For all five KPSEA papers it gives full notes for Grades 4, 5 and 6, three predictive papers per subject set in the KNEC time allowed, and a separate answer booklet so a parent can mark each paper without guessing. It costs KSH 300 for all five papers and downloads instantly after M-Pesa payment. These are original practice papers written by CBC Edu Kenya, not KNEC papers and not "leaked" papers, and we never promise a grade.

Under four weeks to the first paper: get the KPSEA Complete Course for Grade 6 (KSH 300, all five papers, instant download).

Have a child in Grade 9 as well?

KJSEA starts on the same Monday but runs for five days, to Friday 30 October, with twelve written papers. The Grade 9 version of this page, with the paper codes, session times and the night-before plan for each paper, is our KJSEA 2026 timetable, paper by paper. If you are running both at home, Monday and Tuesday mornings are the pinch points: both children must be seated by 8.15 a.m.

Frequently asked questions

When does KPSEA 2026 start?

KPSEA 2026 starts on Monday 26 October 2026 with Mathematics at 8.30 a.m. The rehearsal is on Friday 23 October.

When does KPSEA 2026 end?

It ends on Wednesday 28 October 2026 with Creative Arts and Social Studies, 8.30 a.m. to 10.10 a.m.

How many papers are in KPSEA 2026?

Five: Mathematics, English, Integrated Science, Kiswahili (or Kenyan Sign Language), and Creative Arts and Social Studies. All are multiple choice.

Which is the longest KPSEA paper?

Integrated Science and Creative Arts and Social Studies are the longest, at 1 hour 40 minutes each. Mathematics is 1 hour 20 minutes, and English and Kiswahili are 1 hour each.

Can my child use a pen in KPSEA?

No. KNEC's instructions say answers are shaded in pencil on the answer sheet. Pack two sharpened pencils, a rubber and a sharpener.

In summary

The KPSEA 2026 timetable is short and front-loaded: Mathematics and English on Monday 26 October, Integrated Science and Kiswahili on Tuesday 27 October, and Creative Arts and Social Studies on Wednesday 28 October, after a rehearsal on Friday 23 October. Every paper starts at 8.30 a.m. or later in the morning, is multiple choice, and is shaded in pencil. Use each evening to reread three things, pack the bag and sleep early, and use the weeks before that to sit full papers in the real times.