In scattered incidents where celebrations rented the air, no one was quite sure of the school's performance.
Typically, at schools like St. Georges Girls School that usually perform well and rank top, twigs and jigs would have taken centre stage amid ululation in celebration of success.
At Starehe Boys Centre, a school that has in recent years reportedly faced a decline in fortunes, it was not publicly clear by Friday who was the centre's best candidate or its mean score.
As other schools celebrate and competition intensifies, it, however, remains to be seen whether the new crop of smaller and little-known schools will sustain the impressive momentum and take over as the giants falter.