ZERAKI ACHIEVERS’ EXAMINATIONS

END TERM 1-2024

ENGLISH

FORM ONE (1)

TIME: 2 HOURS 30 MINUTES

Name …………………………………………….……… Adm. Number…………………………..

Class…………………..………………….…...……….. Date……………………………………

Instructions To Candidates:

a) Write your name and admission number in the spaces provided.

b) Indicate your class and write the date of exam in the spaces provided.

c) Answer all the questions in this paper.

d) All your answers must be written in the spaces provided.

For Examiner’s Use Only:

S/No. Question Maximum Score Candidate’s Score

1 Comprehension 20

2 Oral Skills 20

3 Writing 20
4 Grammar 20
TOTAL 80

This paper consists of 10 printed pages. Check to ascertain that all pages are printed as indicated and
that no questions are missing.
 1. COMPREHENSION

Read the passage below and answer the questions that follows. (20 Marks)

Why We Cannot Do Without Prefects

Prefects play a pivotal role in school leadership. As student leaders, their role has evolved with the ever-
changing school systems the world over. Incidentally, the more the education set-up changes, the more
the duties of this cadre remain the same. Our discussion explores the role of prefects as leaders in a school
set-up.

The concept of prefects is historical. It goes back to ancient Roman administrative systems where leaders
were powerful, military, judicial and executive people. The word ‘prefect’ suggests ‘one who does things
first’. You could, therefore, say that a prefect is a prime mover. In education, the systems of having prefects
grew out of 14th century experiments in British centers of academic instruction.

Prefects have considerable authority over other students. This is in line with the British and
Commonwealth traditions. Prefects, in essence, assist the teachers in running schools. Basically, they deal
with discipline and student control in and out of the classroom. The prefect leadership system is
hierarchical with the head prefect, variably referred to as the school president. In this structure, a class
prefect, for example, can refer particularly difficult students to the head prefect. A few years ago, prefects
would actually administer corporal punishment. This has now been abolished in most countries, as modern
opinion disapproves of enforcing discipline through cruel and degrading treatment.

In Kenya, prefects’ bodies link the school administration and student. The democratically elected prefect
body is a bridge between the school administration and students. The prefects inform the teachers about
the aspirations and desires of students. This has become an essential recipe for the clam prevailing in most
schools these days. Prefects also implement the wishes of teachers and the school administration.
Furthermore, it has been mooted that these students’ leaders may as well sit on school boards and other
important organs in the school systems. In India, Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, prefects
enjoy sweeping powers, including subtly having a say in the executive running of the institutions.

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Prefects are usually students of high and admirable moral demeanor. They are role models for the other
students.

They are expected to inspire stubborn and wayward students to change and they have positive influence
on their colleagues. History has proved that schools’ leaders who perform well and are of good character
are highly admired and respected. They eventually carry this trait into their adult lives, hence becoming
leaders in the fields of their choice. any respected leader today will probably point out that their
background in school leadership was a major contributing factor.

Finally, prefects, particularly in Kenya, can now boast about having a direct input in the formation of
education polices. The umbrella association for secondary school head teachers in the country has
organized forums for student leaders with the aim of enhancing the participation of students in the
management of school affairs. This usually culminates in a national students’ council in which students’
leaders articulate issues of education importance. This promotes unity among the schools. The first ever
national students’ council was launched at the Bomas of Kenya on 4th April 2009. It was attended by over
two thousand democratically elected student leaders from secondary schools all over the country.

Although the responsibilities of prefects vary from school to school, their role has a huge bearing on the
stability of their institution. They are, indeed, prime movers in most of the activities in schools. it certainly
would not be a bad idea to have their role strengthened further.

Questions

a. According to the passage who is a prefect? (2 Mark)

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b. What led to the systems of having prefects in education? (2 Marks)

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 c. How do prefects act as a link between the school administrators and the students? (2 Marks)

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d. Give examples of countries stated in the passage where prefects are very powerful. (2Marks)

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e. How many elected student leaders attended 2009 national student’s council? (2 Marks)

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f. How do prefects in Kenya contribute to the formulation of education policies? (2 Marks)

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g. State the functions of prefects in school leadership as highlighted in the passage? (4 Marks)

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h. Give the meaning of the following words as they have been used in the passage? (4 Marks)
i. Recipe
ii. Authority
iii. Sweeping
iv. Hierarchical

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 2. ORAL SKILLS

a. Fill in the gaps in each of the following sentences with the most suitable word from those given

in brackets. (3 Marks)

i. The lorry ………………………………….down Limuru road. (lolled, rolled)

ii. We sing songs to ………………………………..God. (praise, please)

iii. The lorry was quite………………………………… . (wrong, long)

b. Imagine you are preparing to make a presentation in class during the English lesson. How will

you use your voice effectively in order to make a powerful presentation. (2 Marks)

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c. Give other words that have same pronunciation but are spelt differently as the ones provided

below. ( 5 Marks)

i. Ore

ii. One

iii. Hole

iv. Queue

v. Flower

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 d. During a class reader reading session, your teacher of English notes that some students have poor

reading habits, what makes him/her to come to that conclusion? (5 Marks)

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e. Read the following short form item and answer the questions that follows.

“The shortest soldier shot the second shortest soldier’s shoulder.”

i. Identify the short form item above? (1 Mark)

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ii. Identify one feature of the item? (2 Marks)

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iii. Give two functions of the item above? (2 Marks)

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3. WRITING
a. Rewrite the following paragraph in good handwriting correcting the misspelt words. (10 Marks)

I feel confindent that I will find my mother at home. The messanger she had sent to me arrived in good

time and brought me the good news. He is a responsible person. My mother works with good people.

She has no enermies. I love her very much. She works quiet hard and let’s me do my homework. There

is ussually alot of schoolwork to be done at home. My mother has made our home a convinient working

place.

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b. Use commas where necessary in each of the following sentences. (5 Marks)

i. Well I hope you learnt a lesson from this.

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ii. Kayleigh show the visitor the principal’s office.

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iii. After the mother left the child began to cry.

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 iv. The long rains failed . Consequently there was crop failure.

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v. ‘Jesus is the son of God’ said the pastor.

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c. Use the appropriate final or end punctuation marks in the following sentences. (5 Marks)

i. What a wonderful animal a Kangaroo is

ii. Sunday is the first day of the week

iii. Which is the tallest mountain in the world

iv. Did Adam have milk teeth

v. Is it true to say that boys are superior to girls

4. GRAMMAR

a. Use the list provided in the box below to group the nouns into common and proper nouns. (4
Marks)

Man College

Basweti Afraha Stadium

Country President

Kenya Barrack Obama

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b. State whether the following nouns are concrete or abstract. (4 Marks)

Kindness Smell Goat Health

Table Seat Love Mat

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c. Fill in the blanks with the plural form of the word in brackets. (4 Marks)

i. All of Kenyatta’s ………………………….died because of the very cold weather.

(sheep)

ii. The police produced three …………………….as exhibits. (knife)

iii. Why do you live in a house that attracts ………………………? (mouse)

iv. Semba consulted many ………………… before responding to the commissioner.

(chief)

d. Use ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’ to fill in the blanks in the following sentences. (4 Marks)

i. I am just going to …………………post office. I won’t be long.

ii. How often do you go to ……………………..dentist?

iii. She is ……………………………useful person most of …………………….time.

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 e. Fill in the gaps in each of the following sentences with the appropriate reflexive pronouns.

(2 Marks)

i. Nancy blamed ……………………………… for the accident.

ii. When I went to college, I supported ………………………… by working in the

institution cafeteria.

f. Underline the possessive pronouns in the following sentences. (2 Marks)

i. This colourful shirt is yours.

ii. All I know is that theirs is just a joke.

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