Mark of Excellence: CBSE Class 10 toppers say there is no short cut to success 

It is universally known that hard work is the key to success. And the CBSE Class 10 toppers from Apeejay School, Charkhi Dadri realised this well before. From focusing on consistency to achieving daily targets, these achievers followed a disciplined approach that yielded fruitful results. Every late-night session, every sacrifice made, and every challenge conquered prepared them to win. The sweat and toil invested has finally paved their way for accomplishment, culminating in a well-deserved victory. In a quick interview with these toppers, they reveal their recipe for success. Read on: 

Do more quality study than quantity

Aryan Kalkal had challenged himself to score 100/100 in Science and more than 95% in the CBSE Class 10 Board exam. Well, he did so, thereby becoming the topper of his school. He scored a total of 97.6% with a centrum in Science, 97 in English and Mathematics, 99 in Social Science and 95 in Hindi. 

The topper from Apeejay School, Charkhi Dadri believes that achieving this score is the result of hard work and dedication. “There is no short cut to success,” he remarks. He says that focusing on revising the entire syllabus is really important alongwith with reading the NCERT. “I did two rounds of revision for each subject from NCERT books. I read word by word of each topic that was in the syllabus.”  

Revealing his preparation plan he mentions, “Whatever the teacher taught in school, I used to go back home and thoroughly revise. I also practiced previous years’ question papers. Before each exam, I used to solve around 10 question papers and also focused on maintaining my speed.”

For Aryan, studying for straight 5 hours wasn’t a burden for him. “If I had taken this as a pressure, then my performance would have been impacted.  I always believe in the quality of content and so, I used to read a chapter, prepare short notes with all the key points and revise them. This helped me to cover a vast topic within a stipulated time period. You should keep these notes as concise and crisp as possible.” 

Aryan’s parents are working; his mother is an Economics professor and his father is a Businessman. However, he credits his parents for always taking out the time for him to keep his motivation high during the exam. “My parents played a huge role; they never let me take any stress. In addition, I enjoy playing chess so sometimes, when my parents aren’t around, I used to play a game to relax my mind.”  

The IIT aspirant further shares a word of advice for his juniors, “Do not take pressure; Board exams are really easy to crack. Focus on the topics that repeatedly come in the exam. Solve previous years’ questions and read NCERT thoroughly.”

Also Read: Celebrating Academic Stars: CBSE Class 12 toppers shine with stellar results 

Always have a positive attitude 

Whenever Chahak Bansal, the second topper from the school, reached her saturation point during the preparation phase, she used to speak to her parents and siblings. “However, I never used my mobile phone during my study breaks. I used to self-motivate by reinforcing that I have covered so many chapters and only few are left,” she adds. 

Chahak scored 96% in the mentioned exam and is on cloud nine. The topper secured 96 in English, 95 in Mathematics, Social Science as well as Hindi and 99 in Science.  Like her batchmate Aryan, Chahak opines that the result is the outcome of hard work. “There was no easy way to crack the CBSE exam and score good marks. I worked hard along with the support of my teachers at Apeejay and my parents. My parents always encouraged me to give my best,” she emphasises.

The topper further reveals, “From the beginning of the session, I was dedicated and I used to study for 6 hours. And months before the exams, it went up to 8 to 9 hours, and sometimes, it might be more! I had revised my syllabus four times throughout the academic session.”

Her study strategy included giving equal importance to all the subjects. However, she had chalked a preparation strategy for Mathematics and used to practice every day, followed by  Science. “One cannot score good marks in Mathematics by just practicing one day. My teachers in school also suggested that I revise Math lessons from the beginning to the end. So I revised Math with all the other subjects,” she highlights.

Chahak is currently pursuing Commerce in Class 11 and suggests to her juniors, “Study from NCERT and practice previous years’ question papers. Take note of the advice that the teachers share in class.”

Don’t have to study for hours; just be regular 

The third topper from the school, Heman Munjal, believes consistency is the key to success and so,  he used to study for 3 to 4 hours every day since the beginning of the session. “When the Board exam dates approached nearer, I put in more hours. I always enjoyed studying.” 

Heman has scored 95.8% with 94 in English, 95 in Hindi, 96 in Mathematics and Social Science, and 98 in Science.

For the topper, his preparation strategy was simple, “My teachers supported me throughout the session.I also referred to study material available online to clear my doubts. I used to prepare really well for the class tests and assignments that were held frequently as those were very helpful in terms of practicing and revising.”

Highlighting how his parents played a huge pillar of support during this competitive exam, he mentions, “With my parents’ encouragement, I scored 96 in Social Science, which was my weaker subject. They used to motivate me that putting in little effort each day would lead me to score well.” Heman aspires to become a Software Engineer and advises his juniors, “Studying everyday is important to crack any competitive exam.” 

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“‘Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one,’ mentioned by the entrepreneur Malcolm Forbes. Our vision too is to prepare the students to be lifelong learners. Examination to our students is a way to assess their own learning, to better their own selves, rather than compete with the world. This year, like all other years, has been a phenomenal success in terms of Board results and I would just wish to remind the students that ‘success is never permanent and failures are never fatal’, so keep going!!

-MR. RUDRENDRA BASAK, PRINCIPAL, APEEJAY SCHOOL, CHARKHI DADRI