New subjects, new school, same drive; a journey to 90%+ scores

Going from Class X to Class XI, after taking the Board exams, can be daunting. This is especially true because the subjects are new and different. For others, the transition can be drastic. Changing school in Class XI means everything is new — subjects, teachers, friends, and classmates. And yet, despite the challenges, three students of Apeejay School, Noida — Alankrita Singh, Diksha Khandelwal, and Kalash Jain — have shown that hard work can lead to success.

In a candid interview, they share how teachers’ support is the key to a great score.

Alankrita, who scored 95.6% in her Class XI, is thrilled with her results. “Commerce is a completely new domain for me, so achieving this result has been enthralling. And there’s no secret behind it. It’s all about working hard and managing time effectively. And while I intended to take it easy at first,  since Commerce was a completely new arena for me, I had to put in extra effort to get my basics right. That required a lot of hard work, but my teachers and mentors guided me throughout the process,” the Class XII student shared, adding that the teachers made sure we understood the topics thoroughly.

Diksha, who scored 94.6% and has Commerce with Math, said, “My strategy was simple — consistent revision. Whatever our teachers taught us in class, I would revise it regularly. I didn’t panic or get too tense about exams. I focused on understanding the concepts, which helped. Once you understand something properly, you don’t need to put in extra effort to memorise it.”

Another highlight of her strategy was to take notes, especially for subjects like Business Studies and Accounting. “While you can learn from other sources, there are certain things only school teachers can tell you. School gives you a unique perspective that you won’t find elsewhere,” the class XII opined.

Kalash, who scored 90.8%, shared, “I relied a lot on the books provided by the school, especially the NCERT books. This is because the CBSE papers are based on the NCERT curriculum. So, it makes more sense to complete the NCERT thoroughly before moving on to anything else. For example, in Business Studies (BST), everything comes directly from the NCERT. Even the language used in the book is significant.”

Taking notes in class is just as important. “Teachers would point out important topics and ask us to mark or write down explanations. I followed those instructions closely. Attending all classes, especially Accountancy, is necessary. The concepts are new, and if you miss even a single class, it becomes very confusing. But with regular practice, I started enjoying it and realised I could do well,” the CUET aspirant shared.