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Sierra Leone withholds results of 47,454 WASSCE candidates

By , based on Sierraloaded

Map: Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone has released the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination results, but 47,454 candidates have had their results withheld over suspected cheating. Basic and Secondary Education Minister Conrad Sackey announced the release on 27 October; WAEC could lift some withholdings after an investigation, according to the ministry cited by Sierraloaded.

Sierra Leone has withheld the results of 47,454 candidates in the 2026 WASSCE, the West African Senior School Certificate Examination, over suspected irregularities. Basic and Secondary Education Minister Conrad Sackey announced the results on Tuesday, according to Sierraloaded. The ministry received the results from the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) on Friday 23 October.

A total of 200,756 candidates from 1,038 schools are included in the results sent to the government. Five private schools, representing 368 candidates, were excluded over unpaid fees to WAEC. Among the candidates whose results are being withheld, 26,735 are girls and 20,719 are boys. After an investigation, WAEC may release some or all of the results concerned.

Among candidates whose results were released, 91,122 obtained at least five credits in a single sitting, or 64.3%, an improvement on the previous year. The pass rate by subject reached 81.4%, with 916,125 passes out of 1,125,314 papers taken. The ministry said 141,810 candidates sat at least one subject and that 11,492 appeared to have been absent from every paper.

Alfred Farwell Thorpe of Sierra Leone Grammar School topped the assessed candidates, obtaining six A1s, one B3 and one C4 in eight subjects. Silawi Ali of Camboi Lebanese Senior Secondary School in Kenema came next with four A1s, two B2s and two B3s. Awada Senior Secondary School in Bo was named the best school under the ministry’s criteria: 29 of its 30 candidates met the requirements for direct admission to a university course in Sierra Leone.

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