Guide
How subject selection works
From Grade 10, every learner studies seven subjects. Four are the same for everyone. The other three are chosen together as a subject combination, and a senior school can only take a learner for a combination it teaches. So the combination comes first, and it decides which schools a learner can choose.
Pathways and tracks
Senior school runs from Grade 10 to Grade 12. It has three pathways, and each pathway is divided into tracks. The Ministry's selection portal lists these subjects in each track:
STEM
- Pure Sciences
- Biology, Chemistry, Physics, General Science
- Applied Sciences
- Agriculture, Computer Studies, Home Science
- Technical Studies
- Aviation, Building & Construction, Electricity, Marine & Fisheries, Media Technology, Metal Work, Power Mechanics, Wood Work
Social Sciences
- Languages & Literature
- Literature in English, Fasihi ya Kiswahili, Arabic, French, German, Mandarin Chinese, Kenya Sign Language, Sign Language Skills, an indigenous language
- Humanities & Business Studies
- History & Citizenship, Geography, Business Studies, Christian, Islamic or Hindu Religious Education
Arts & Sports Science
- Arts
- Fine Arts, Music & Dance, Theatre & Film
- Sports
- Sports & Recreation
The four subjects everyone takes
- English.
- Kiswahili. Deaf learners take Kenya Sign Language instead. Hearing learners cannot take Kenya Sign Language, but they can take Sign Language Skills.
- Mathematics, at one of two levels: Core or Essential. A learner whose combination has two or three of Biology, Chemistry and Physics must take Core Mathematics. Everyone else chooses.
- Community Service Learning.
Learners also have Physical Education and ICT lessons. Their own school assesses those two; KNEC does not.
Subject combinations
A combination is three subjects taken together, such as Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Learners pick from the Ministry's list of combinations, not any three subjects they like. At least two of the three come from the learner's own pathway, so a STEM combination can include Geography or Business Studies.
Some subjects never go together. A learner taking General Science cannot also take Biology, Chemistry or Physics, and a learner takes only one of the three Religious Education subjects.
The Ministry calls a combination a foundation for further study. It is not a course, and it does not tie a learner to one career.
Reading a combination code
The portal shows every combination with a code, such as ST1048 for Biology, Chemistry and Physics. The letters give the pathway: ST for STEM, SS for Social Sciences and AS for Arts & Sports Science. The first digit gives the track, in the order of the table above, so ST1 is Pure Sciences and SS2 is Humanities & Business Studies. The rest is the combination's number.
PathwaySTEM
STTrackPure Sciences
1Subject combinationBiology, Chemistry, Physics
048Pure Sciences has other combinations too, such as Agriculture, Biology, Chemistry.
STEM has two more tracks: Applied Sciences and Technical Studies.
Reading a code
- ST
- Pathway: STEM
- 1
- Track: Pure Sciences
- 048
- The combination, within that track
Choosing in Grade 9
The junior school signs in to the Ministry's portal and enters each learner's choices.
The school confirms the learner's gender, county and sub-county, and any special needs.
The learner chooses a pathway.
The learner chooses a combination in that pathway.
In 2026, each learner could choose one or two.
The learner chooses senior schools that teach the combination.
In 2026, each learner chose eight: three C1, two C2, two C3 and one C4.
The school submits the choices and prints the learner's profile, and a parent signs it.
The dates for the current intake are in the placement guide.
How places are given
Each senior school has a limited number of places for each combination it teaches. The Ministry's system goes through a learner's schools in the order they were ranked, and moves to the next when one is full. It weighs the learner's choices and results, with other rules the Ministry says are there for fairness.
The results come from KNEC. The Grade 9 assessment (KJSEA) makes up 60% of a learner's score, school assessments in Grades 7 and 8 make up 20%, and KPSEA in Grade 6 the other 20%. KNEC does not add the subject grades into one total. It gives each learner a score from 0 to 75 for each pathway, and a higher score points to more strength in that pathway.
A learner with no choices submitted may be given a pathway, combination and school by the Ministry.
After placement
Choices can be corrected only while the selection window is open, through the junior school. After placement, a learner can ask for a transfer to another school. Officials and schools decide each request; none is automatic. For the previous intake, the Ministry also opened a review of placements on 23 December 2025, through the junior schools and its county and sub-county offices.
We have found no published rule on changing combination after joining Grade 10. Ask the senior school.
Sources
Checked on 14 October 2026.
- Ministry of Education, Grade 10 Selection & Placement portal: Help & Support, and the list of subjects in each track on its Pathways page. Read 14 October 2026.
- Ministry of Education, Status of the ongoing placement of Grade Nine learners, 21 December 2025.
- KNEC, Instructions on registration of subjects for Grade 10 learners, July 2026.
- KNEC, Schedule and instructions for the 2026 Grade 10 school-based assessment, June 2026.
- KNEC, KJSEA regulations, sections 13.3 to 13.5.
- The Star, What your child will study in Grade 10, 3 January 2026, reporting the Ministry's circular on senior school subjects.
- Daily Nation, Report quoting the Directorate of Secondary Education, 8 September 2026.
- Ministry of Education, Press statement by the Cabinet Secretary, 2 January 2026.