KJSEA, KPSEA and KCSE 2026: Every Exam Date in One Table

Term 3 is the shortest and most consequential term of the Kenyan school year. It is only nine weeks long, from Monday 24 August to Friday 23 October 2026, and the national assessments start the very next Monday: KPSEA for Grade 6, KJSEA for Grade 9, then KCSE for Form 4. Plan it well and your child sails through. Plan it poorly and the last few weeks become a panic. Here is the full 2026 calendar plus a parent and teacher planning guide.

The headline dates (Ministry of Education calendar and KNEC timetables 2026)

• Term 3 opens: Monday 24 August 2026
• Half-term break: none; the Ministry calendar sets no half-term in the 9-week Term 3
• Mashujaa Day (no school): Tuesday 20 October 2026
• KPSEA and KJSEA rehearsal: Friday 23 October 2026
• Term 3 closes: Friday 23 October 2026
• KPSEA (Grade 6): Monday 26 to Wednesday 28 October 2026
• KJSEA (Grade 9): Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026
• KCSE (Form 4): Monday 2 to Friday 20 November 2026
• Results: KNEC has not yet announced results dates for KPSEA, KJSEA or KCSE 2026
• Long holiday: from Saturday 24 October 2026 to 1 January 2027 for learners not sitting national assessments

Every KPSEA and KJSEA paper and session time is in our official KNEC 2026 calendar, day by day. Term dates follow the Ministry's published 2026 calendar and KCSE dates follow the same calendar. Always confirm with your specific school, as private and international schools sometimes vary by a few days.

Week-by-week structure of Term 3 2026

Term 3 has 9 weeks (24 August to 23 October). Here is the cadence Kenyan teachers should plan against:

• Weeks 1 to 2 (24 Aug to 4 Sep): Re-entry, baseline assessment, closing any gaps from Term 2. Many teachers underuse these weeks because the schedule feels relaxed: that is a mistake. Build the foundation now.
• Weeks 3 to 5 (7 Sep to 25 Sep): Heavy teaching and consolidation. New content should be substantially done by the end of week 5.
• Weeks 6 to 8 (28 Sep to 16 Oct): Revision and timed practice papers for Grade 6, Grade 9 and Form 4. Other grades sit their end-of-term assessments.
• Week 9 (19 Oct to 23 Oct): Mashujaa Day on Tuesday, light review, report cards and closure. Candidates attend the rehearsal on Friday 23 October.
• After closing (26 Oct to 20 Nov): National assessments. KPSEA runs 26 to 28 October, KJSEA 26 to 30 October and KCSE 2 to 20 November.

For parents: the four planning windows that matter

Window 1: 24 August: start strong. Buy any missing textbooks and revision materials in the first week, before the back-to-school rush hides them at Text Book Centre. Sit with your child the first Saturday and ask them what topics from Term 2 they did NOT understand. Note these: they will resurface in Term 3.

Window 2: The last three weekends of term (3 to 18 October). There is no half-term break this term, so if your child is in Grade 6, Grade 9 or Form 4, these weekends are the last extended blocks of time before the national assessments. Plan about 3 hours of structured revision on each Saturday and Sunday. The cost of "letting them rest" here is a grade band lower in their final result.

Window 3: 1 to 2 weeks before the exam. Switch from learning new content to past-paper practice. KCSE candidates should do one full past paper per subject per week, timed. KJSEA and KPSEA candidates do mock papers under timed conditions.

Window 4: The night before the first paper. Sleep wins. No new learning. Light review of formula sheets only. A well-rested learner beats a sleep-deprived crammer every time.

For teachers: pacing your scheme of work

The single most common Term 3 mistake is teachers trying to "finish the syllabus" right up to closing day. Don't. By the end of week 5, every strand for the term must be covered. Weeks 6 to 8 are consolidation only: practice and revision, no new strands. If you are still teaching new content in week 9, your candidates will not be ready.

Use the end of September to do a Term 3 audit: did you cover what your scheme of work said you would? If not, drop the lowest-value sub-strand and double down on what is most-tested.

What to check for the KJSEA 2026 cohort

The 2026 Grade 9 cohort is the second to sit KJSEA, after the first cohort in 2025. KNEC's specimen papers and the assessment design are available, and schools should be drilling them in Term 3. Parents should ask their school to confirm:

1. Has the school worked through the official KJSEA specimen papers with the class?
2. How many mock KJSEAs will be sat before the real assessment?
3. Which teachers are leading the KJSEA prep in each subject?

If the answers are vague, escalate. A Grade 9 class cannot afford a school that is figuring it out as it goes.

Materials to stock up on now

Term 3 is brutal on consumables: notebooks, manilla, pens, scientific calculators (Casio fx-991 still the standard for KJSEA and KCSE Maths). Buy the calculator early; supply shortages happen in October. For digital materials, this is the term where structured revision packs save the most time.

Term 3 revision packs are ready.
→ Browse Term 3 revision packs: KICD-aligned, per grade, KSH 100 per subject or KSH 250 for the whole-grade bundle.
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Sources: Ministry of Education 2026 school calendar; KNEC 2026 KPSEA timetable (KNEC/TD/SE/KPSEA/TT/26/001) and revised 2026 KJSEA timetable (KNEC/TD/SE/KJSEA/TT/2026/003); KICD curriculum guidance. Dates checked on 30 September 2026: always confirm with your school for final dates.