Freetown – The Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education has officially released the 2026 National Primary School Examination results, Minister Conrad Sackey announced.
The West African Examinations Council transmitted the results to the Ministry on Friday, 7 August 2026. The release came a week later than last year’s date of 17 July but earlier than the 12 August date recorded in 2024.
A total of 164,714 candidates from 5,228 primary schools received results. Girls accounted for 83,780 (52 percent) of the candidates while boys numbered 78,934 (48 percent). The figure represents a drop of 5,619 candidates compared with 2025, even though 89 more schools took part this year.
Eleven-year-old Bethany Davis of Tower Hill Kindergarten and Primary School in Freetown emerged as the national top scorer with an aggregate T-score of 351, surpassing the previous year’s highest mark of 346.
According to Ministry figures, 125,498 candidates met or exceeded the cut-off score of 230, producing an overall pass rate of 78.2 percent. This is a marginal improvement on the 78 percent recorded in 2025. Boys posted a pass rate of 78.7 percent while girls recorded 78 percent. Officials noted that more girls than boys both sat and passed the examination, a pattern the Ministry says it is examining further.
Some 4,553 candidates (2,328 girls and 2,225 boys) were absent from all subjects. The Ministry described the number as persistently high and confirmed it is under investigation.
WAEC has withheld the results of 1,927 candidates for reasons including non-submission of continuous assessment scores and suspected malpractice. Schools that have not yet submitted continuous assessment scores have been given until Thursday to do so. Heads of schools who fail to comply without satisfactory explanation face disciplinary measures.
Government and government-assisted schools continued to post solid performances. Ministry officials expressed confidence that results will improve further as foundational learning programmes take deeper root.
A full technical report containing district-by-district analysis and school categorisation will be published on the Ministry’s website in the first week of the 2026–2027 academic year. WAEC has indicated that some of the set-aside results will be released after due process, which is expected to raise the final number of successful candidates. Result packages are being prepared for delivery to all schools at the beginning of next week.
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