Two students do city proud, bag second spot in India

Two Mumbai students secured a spot in the top three berths at ICSE and ISC, the results of which were declared on Monday. While Farzan Bharucha from Greenlawns High school, Breach Candy, bagged the second spot (all India) at the ICSE exams with 99.20 per cent, Rishika Dhariwal from Jamnabai Narsee School in Juhu stood second (all India) at the ISC exams with a score of 99.25 per cent.

The Maharashtra division, which Mumbai is a part of, recorded an overall pass percentage of 99.81 per cent for ICSE and 98.71 per cent for ISC.

Several prominent schools in the city had a 100 per cent result with a large number of students scoring above 90 per cent. "The results are extremely good this year. The students have worked hard and it has clearly shown in the bright results that they have achieved," said Zeenat Bhojabhoy, Principal, Jamnabai Narsee School in Vile Parle.

Kalyani Patnaik, Principal of Hiranandani Foundation School, Powai said that the number of students scoring above 90 per cent has seen an increase this year. "70 of the total 125 students who had appeared for the exam have scored above 90 per cent, which is a great achievement for the school," Patnaik said.

Norina Fernandes, Principal, Lilavatibai Podar School in Santacruz said that students across streams have done well this year with a large number of students falling in the 90 per cent and above category. "Students have done exceptionally well in ICSE and across streams in ISC she added.

(With inputs from Aishwarya Kulkarni and Vanessa Viegas)

On the top: ICSE's brightest two

Farzan Hoshi Bharucha: (All India rank 2) - 99.2%, Greenlawns High School, Breach Candy
Farzan scored a perfect 100 in Mathematics and Technical Drawing. "I put in 7-8 hours of studies during exams. My teachers as well as my tutor motivated and brought out the best in me. It was definitely pressurising but nevertheless enjoyable."

Isha Deliwala: 98.8%, Vibgyor High, Goregaon
Isha managed to achieve this feat without any coaching. She wants to study actuarial mathematics. “My school and parents supported me a lot. I am extremely happy that I could achieve such a great score.” Isha scored a perfect 100 in Maths, Economics and Physical Education.

ISC's top two who triumphed

Rishika Dhariwal - 99.2%,
(All India rank 2), Jamnabai Narsee school
Dhariwal, who is also the Maharashtra topper, scored a perfect 100 in Psychology. "I want to pursue Psychology from DU or St. Xavier's in Mumbai. I took all my tests seriously and made it a point to study consistently throughout the year. I avoided last minute preparations."

Krishna Chablani - 98.76%, Jamnabai Narsee school
"We had a lot of tutorials and exams in school that helped us to prepare. I tried to concentrate on my weaker subjects more than the subjects I was good at. I practiced Maths and Accounts every day. However, in the break before exams, I concentrated on English and Economics. I want to pursue Finance and am applying to related courses."

Against all odds

Manan Kejriwal — 92.83%,
Jamnabai Narsee School
Manan underwent a brain surgery towards the beginning of his academic year. Despite this, he managed to score an impressive 92.83 per cent. "I did have a few headaches. Post surgery, I had a year to stabilise and come around with the medicines."

Avantika Singh — 95.67%,
Jamnabai Narsee School
Avantika overcame the grief of losing her father a month before the exam and scored 95.67 per cent."My dad passed away one month before the exams. My concentration took a hit. I now plan to join NM college and as of now I do not have any long-drawn plans."

Svojas Pitale: 70%,
Lilavatibai Podar school
"I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 5. Because of my condition, I feel dizzy, get stomach cramps and my sugar levels fluctuate. During my preparations, my sugar levels used to drop and I needed to eat at an interval of 5 minutes. I plan to pursue MBBS and MD in neurology."

Simran Singh, Passed First Class, Ryan International School (Malad)
ICSE made a special provision for the first time allowing Singh and Ritika Thaker from Nagpur to appear for the exams from Berlin. "I had the Dutch Open Tournament. Everyone said that we either play or miss the exams. But our respective schools supported us."