UACE 2025: Uganda's Top 100 Schools Ranked by Average Points

Most UACE rankings reward size. A school that enters 600 candidates will almost always produce more top-grade students than one that enters 50, simply because there are more people to score highly. That kind of ranking tells you which schools are big, not which schools are best.

Average points per candidate is different. It asks: what does a student at this school typically achieve It penalises schools that protect their averages by restricting entry. It rewards schools where every student performs well, not just the talented few. And in the 2025 UACE results, this metric tells a more honest, and more interesting, story than any simple count of A grades.

Here is that story, with the complete ranking of Uganda's top 100 A-Level schools by average points, analysis of what the results reveal, and guidance for parents and students making school decisions.

The 2025 UACE National Picture

Before the rankings: context. On March 13, 2026, UNEB released the 2025 UACE results for 166,402 candidates across 2,844 examination centres. The headline numbers were encouraging, 98.9% qualified for the UACE certificate, and a record 68.6% qualified for university admission with three or more principal passes. Both figures represent improvements on 2024.

The results were also notable for gender performance: female candidates outperformed male counterparts in Humanities subjects, while males continued to dominate in Mathematics and Sciences. And 351 candidates had their results withheld for examination malpractice.

Now, the schools.

Top 100 UACE 2025 Schools: Full Rankings by Average Points

Rankings are based on average UACE points per candidate. The maximum possible score is 20 points. Schools are listed with their average and the number of candidates who sat the examination.

Data sourced from UNEB 2025 UACE results. Rankings based on average points per candidate. Schools with multiple campuses (Seeta, St. Mary's Kitende, Amus College) appear separately where results were submitted independently.

What These Rankings Actually Reveal

The Story at the Top: Small Schools, Exceptional Results

The most striking pattern at the top of the 2025 rankings is the relationship between school size and average performance. Look at the top 5:

• St. Julian HS Annex, 17.4 points, 67 candidates

• Cornerstone Leadership Academy, 16.5 points, 49 candidates

• Mt. St. Mary's Namagunga, 16.5 points, 126 candidates

• Central College Annex, Mityana, 16.2 points, 28 candidates

• Ntare School, 16.1 points, 183 candidates

The top two schools entered fewer than 70 candidates each. That raises a fair question: is a 17.4-point average from 67 students genuinely comparable to a 15.3-point average from 405 students at King's College Budo?

The honest answer is: it depends on what you're measuring. A smaller school can more easily maintain a high average by selecting only high-ability students or by providing highly personalised attention. A school like Gayaza High School, which recorded 16.1 points from 164 candidates, or Amus College School with 16.0 from 491 candidates, is doing something different and arguably harder, sustaining elite performance at scale.

Both types of school have something to offer. But parents should understand the difference when interpreting these numbers.

The Most Impressive Result in the Entire Ranking

Consider this: St. Andrea Kahwa's College in Hoima ranked 7th nationally with an average of 16.0 points from 246 candidates. That is a cohort more than three times the size of the national leader's, achieving an average within 1.4 points of the top.

Or consider Amus College School, ranked 8th nationally: 16.0 points from 491 candidates. Nearly 500 students. A 16-point average. This is, quietly, one of the most impressive collective performances in the entire 2025 UACE.

Take David, a parent in Lira who has been weighing whether to send his daughter, Miriam, to Amus or to a smaller school in Kampala that promises "personal attention." Looking at these numbers changes the calculus. Amus is not a small boutique school achieving results with a handful of students, it is a large institution achieving elite-level performance across an entire cohort of nearly 500. That speaks to institutional quality, not individual circumstance.

The Multiple-Campus Schools: How to Read Them

Several schools in the rankings appear more than once because they operate multiple campuses or annexes that submitted results independently. This is important to understand when researching schools:

• Seeta High School appears as both Seeta HS Mukono (15.9, 308 candidates) and Seeta HS Main (15.8, 241 candidates), two campuses with very similar averages, both performing at elite level.

• St. Mary's SS Kitende (15.4, 498) and St. Mary's SS Kitende Annex (13.9, 113) show a meaningful gap between the main campus and its annex.

• Amus College School (16.0, 491) and Amus College School Annex (14.6, 114) follow the same pattern.

If you are researching a school with multiple campuses, always clarify which campus you are enquiring about, and ask for that specific campus's UACE results, not the combined school name.

Regional Analysis: Where Uganda's Best Schools Are

Central Uganda and Wakiso: Dominant, as Expected

The top 20 is dominated by schools from Wakiso, Kampala, and the central region. St. Julian Annex, Gayaza HS, King's College Budo, Uganda Martyrs Namugongo, St. Mary's Kitende, St. Mary's College Kisubi, these are all Wakiso institutions. The reasons are structural: proximity to Kampala, established boarding infrastructure, access to experienced teachers, and a large pool of high-performing UCE students from which to select.

This is not a recent development. Wakiso schools have led UACE rankings for decades. For parents who want the very highest average-points schools in Uganda, the data continues to point to the Wakiso cluster.

Western Uganda: Ntare Leads, But Hoima Surprises

Ntare School's 5th-place national ranking (16.1 points, 183 candidates) continues its long tradition as Western Uganda's academic benchmark. But the more striking Western Uganda story in 2025 is St. Andrea Kahwa's College in Hoima, 7th nationally, 16.0 points, 246 candidates.

Hoima is not the first district that comes to mind when Ugandan parents discuss elite A-Level education. But St. Andrea Kahwa's College is making a compelling case that the Western region has more to offer than just Ntare. Its performance, 7th nationally from a large cohort, deserves serious attention from families in the Bunyoro sub-region.

Eastern Uganda: Jinja and Mbale Hold Their Ground

Jinja College (13.5 points, 121 candidates) and Busoga College Mwiri (13.0 points, 89 candidates) represent Eastern Uganda in the top 60. Both are historic schools with strong traditions, and their continued presence in the national top rankings confirms that Eastern Uganda families have quality A-Level options within the region.

St. Joseph's SS Naggalama in Mukono (14.2 points, 224 candidates) and Iganga SS (13.1 points, 234 candidates) also feature, a reminder that Mukono district extends the central cluster's reach into what is geographically Eastern Uganda.

Northern Uganda: Ocer Campion and the Progress Being Made

Ocer Campion Jesuit College in Gulu appears in the broader national rankings, reflecting the school's continued rise as Northern Uganda's academic standard-bearer. For a region that spent years rebuilding its education infrastructure after conflict, seeing a Gulu school in any national top-100 ranking is significant progress.

The gap between Northern Uganda's best schools and the national top 20 remains real, but it is narrowing, year by year. Families in Gulu, Lira, and Arua now have locally accessible A-Level options that were not available a decade ago.

Schools Worth Watching: Ones That Surprised in 2025

Beyond the expected names, several schools in the 2025 rankings stand out for results that exceed what their reputation or location might predict:

• God's Way High School, Maganjo, 15.4 points from 100 candidates, ranking 12th nationally. A school that does not appear in most "elite schools" conversations but produces results that compete with Uganda's most famous institutions.

• St. Mary's Girls' College Aboke (41st, 13.7 points, 54 candidates), a school in Kole district, Northern Uganda, producing results that many Kampala schools cannot match.

• Plus Two High School, Bushenyi, 13.4 points from 99 candidates, placing 47th nationally and representing strong performance from the Ankole sub-region.

• Bweranyangi Girls' SS (63rd, 12.9 points, 175 candidates), a girls' school in Bushenyi that produces consistent results from a large cohort in a district rarely highlighted in education discourse.

• Bukalasa Seminary, 13.3 points from just 22 candidates, ranking 51st nationally. A small Catholic seminary school in Luweero producing results that rival much larger institutions.

These schools matter for a specific reason: they demonstrate that elite UACE performance is not exclusively the property of famous schools in Kampala and Wakiso. A parent who limits their search to the names they have heard of will miss institutions that deliver results just as strong, sometimes stronger, at significantly lower cost or closer to home.

How to Use These Rankings When Choosing an A-Level School

Patricia is a mother of twins in Mbarara. Both are completing O-Level this year and she is beginning to research A-Level options. She finds the national rankings and sees Ntare School at 5th nationally, exactly what she expected. But she also notices St. Andrea Kahwa's College in Hoima at 7th, Amus College at 8th, and St. Joseph's Vocational School Mbarara at 48th. Three schools she had not seriously considered are now on her list, all within her region.

This is what rankings should do: not confirm assumptions, but expand the shortlist.

Here is a framework for using these rankings well:

1. Identify schools in your region or within viable boarding distance. Filter the top 100 by geography first, there is no reason to look at Kampala schools if you are in Fort Portal and Kyegobe is 59th nationally.

2. Compare average points against cohort size. A school with 16.0 from 491 candidates (Amus) is demonstrating something different from one with 16.5 from 49 (Cornerstone). Decide which matters more for your situation.

3. Check the school's subject combination offerings. Rankings are aggregate, they do not tell you how a school performs in the specific subjects your child will study. Ask the school directly for results in their relevant combination.

4. Look beyond one year. One strong year can reflect an unusually talented intake. A school that appears in the top 60 consistently across 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 has demonstrated structural quality, not just good fortune.

5. Visit before deciding. Rankings are a starting point. The school environment, boarding quality, teacher experience, and pastoral care are factors no table can capture.

You can search and compare secondary schools in Uganda on SchoolsArena, filter by district, school type, and level, and read community reviews from parents and students who have direct experience with each institution.

What the Rankings Do Not Tell You

Rankings by average points are useful. They are not complete. Here is what they leave out:

• Individual subject performance. A school with a 14.0 overall average might have exceptional Biology and Chemistry results while being weak in Economics. If your child is pre-medicine, subject-level data matters more than the aggregate.

• University placement rates. The actual measure of A-Level success is how many students gain admission to their university of choice. Ask schools directly for their Makerere admission rates and first-choice placement statistics.

• Fee-to-performance ratio. A school charging UGX 3,000,000 per term and ranking 15th nationally may offer worse value than one charging UGX 900,000 and ranking 25th.

• Student wellbeing and pastoral care. An academically successful school that is harsh, unsafe, or that fails to support struggling students is not the right environment for every child. Parent reviews, honest ones, fill this gap.

Read parent and community reviews of Uganda's schools on SchoolsArena to understand what families who have actually been through these schools say, beyond what exam results can show.

The Financial Reality: Bursaries for A-Level Students

Many of the schools in this top 100 carry significant fees. King's College Budo, St. Mary's Kitende, Uganda Martyrs Namugongo, Ntare School, Mt. St. Mary's Namagunga, these are not cheap schools. For families who cannot stretch to full boarding fees at a top institution, there are options.

Uganda's bursary and scholarship system, funded through government schemes, NGOs, religious organisations, and international bodies, provides financial support to qualified students from low-income families. Applications typically open in the weeks following UACE results, which means now is exactly the right time to start looking.

Explore the bursaries and scholarships database on SchoolsArena to find opportunities your child may qualify for. A top-ranked A-Level education is more financially accessible than many parents assume.

Frequently Asked Questions: UACE 2025 School Rankings

Which school had the highest average points in UACE 2025?

St. Julian High School Annex in Gayaza, Wakiso district, had the highest average, 17.4 points from 67 candidates, making it the top-ranked school in Uganda by average UACE performance in 2025.

Which large school performed best in UACE 2025?

Amus College School achieved 16.0 points from 491 candidates, one of the strongest large-cohort performances in the 2025 UACE, placing it 8th nationally despite entering nearly 500 students.

Why do some schools appear more than once in the rankings?

Schools that operate multiple campuses or annexes sometimes submit results independently for each campus. Seeta High School, St. Mary's Kitende, and Amus College School all have main campuses and separate annexes that ranked individually in the 2025 data.

Are there strong A-Level schools outside Kampala and Wakiso?

Yes. St. Andrea Kahwa's College in Hoima (7th nationally), Ntare School in Mbarara (5th), St. Leo's College Kyegobe in Fort Portal (59th), Jinja College (45th), and Ocer Campion Jesuit College in Gulu are all strong regional performers in the 2025 rankings.

Where can I compare A-Level schools side by side in Uganda?

SchoolsArena's school comparison tool lets you evaluate secondary schools side by side. You can also search schools by district and read reviews from parents who have children at these institutions.

Conclusion

The 2025 UACE average-points rankings tell a richer story than a simple list of names. They reveal the extraordinary consistency of large-cohort schools like Amus College and Gayaza High School. They surface surprises like God's Way High School in Maganjo and St. Andrea Kahwa's College in Hoima, which most parents have never seriously considered. And they confirm, with hard numbers, what Uganda's best-known schools, Ntare, King's College Budo, Namagunga, Kisubi, Namugongo, have built over decades.

For students who have just received their 2025 UACE results, these rankings are both a mirror and a map, a reflection of where you studied, and a guide to what is possible for the next generation making A-Level decisions.

For parents researching A-Level schools for 2026, start with the numbers. Then dig deeper. Browse Uganda's secondary schools on SchoolsArena, compare verified profiles, read real community reviews, and make the decision that is right for your child, not just the one that the rankings alone suggest.