From practising yoga to rewarding oneself, CBSE class 10 toppers share exam prep journey

The CBSE results are out but the resounding success reflected on the mark sheets only tells you half the story. What goes behind it is a year of toil, a lot of exam stress, and some little sacrifices. How do students beat this stress and pump their confidence? Jahnvi Bansal from Apeejay School, Pitampura, for instance, took out time to exercise while preparing for CBSE class 10 exam.

‘Yoga helped alleviate exam stress’

The school topper, who scored 99.2 per cent, made sure to devote half an hour every day to workout. “I mostly did yoga. It helped alleviate stress and kept me calm. It also improved my concentration levels,” she says. After months of hard work and two board exams, Jahnvi now feels very happy.

For Nitya Arora, a topper with 98.4 per cent, break time meant cricket. Despite her exams, she watched the entire season of Indian Premier League (IPL) to destress. “I like watching cricket—it teaches you sportsmanship and keeps you going.” Thanks to the pre-board exams held at school, she was not too stressed about the board exam, she says.

While giving it all, Lakshita Buswala was stressed about her results. “In fact, I was not really expecting the results on the day it was declared. When I sat to check my result online, the page read ‘error’. When I reloaded the page, the result popped up and I was so elated to see my marks! Before the results, my grandmother had been motivating me. She was very happy to see my result. My parents were equally excited!” she exclaims.

Lakshita, who scored 98 per cent, recalls how she recovered every time she felt stressed during her CBSE preparation. “Whenever I felt stressed, I took a break for five minutes and took deep breaths, which helped me calm down. I put up motivational quotes on my pin-up board.”

How to manage a vast syllabus

With a diverse range of subjects to study with a vast syllabus for each, CBSE preparations naturally get overwhelming for students. Each of the toppers came up with specific approaches to tackle the problem. For social studies subjects, Lakshita realised cramming would not be the best option. “It is not my cup of tea. Instead, I started taking a real interest in the subjects and when I studied the topics, I treated them as stories which helped me finish the syllabus.” In addition, she solved at least 20-30 sample papers for each subject.

To keep her going, she also made sure to reward herself for achieving small targets. “I made a to-do list in which I assigned my tasks for the day and the time period within which they had to be completed. Whenever I completed the day’s task, I even rewarded myself with something like a chocolate bar. I did not really have a fixed time for studying, Sometimes, I woke up at 4 am in the morning and slept at 10 pm. At other times, I studied till very late in the night and then woke up at 10-11 am in the morning,” she shares.

For topics that need memorising, Jahnvi says writing practice helps. “And revise that particular topic daily. There were some topics that I delayed studying till the time of the exam so that they would be fresh in my memory.” Adds Nitya, “After my term I exam, I completed my Geography syllabus first since it was very vast and there was a lot to remember. Simultaneously, I kept making notes. After a few weeks, I would go back to the notes and revise. This made sure I did not forget the concepts.” Instead of cramming blindly, she says she understood the concepts clearly and wrote the answers in her own words while timing them. For Maths too, in which she tended to miss steps, she practised writing.

Meanwhile, her mother helped her prepare the subjects in her own way. “My mother, who is a social science teacher, played Q&A with me to help me revise my topics. She also assisted me in my preparation for my Maths exam. My parents advised me to make notes for every topic.”

Revising concepts is the key to good exam performance, the toppers believe. Jahnvi mentions, “Our school had conducted two pre-boards, so we had enough practice for subjective questions. I focused on revising the concepts thoroughly again and again. During the preparation days, I would study for about 6-7 hours a day. During the exam, the entire time was spent on revising of course. I dedicated more of my time to Social Studies since the syllabus was vast. I repeatedly studied the topics with which I had some difficulty.”

What next?

Both Nitya and Lakshita aim to be doctors one day and are gearing up for their journey in class 11. Jahnvi, on the other hand, has opted for Commerce although it is her dream to be able to pursue Law. “My father is a chartered accountant which is why I am inclined toward it. Honestly, it is more of a backup for me. The reason I want to pursue law is that I am fascinated by judges and wish to become one when I grow up,” she says while chuckling about how she tends to resolve conflicts between friends.

This year, the class 10 students of Apeejay Pitampura have once again made their school extremely proud—they have soared high, and how! The distinctions per student are 4.36 with 101 students scoring 90 per cent and above. Besides, 32 students scored perfect centum in English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Science.

“Exams are always tough, but for Champions like you, the toughest of them would never be any problem.
Congratulations, champs!”

–VEENA GOEL, PRINCIPAL, APEEJAY SCHOOL PITAMPURA