Study not just to score marks, but also to gain knowledge: says a CBSE Class 10 topper  

A regular study schedule, thorough practice, focus on daily productivity and consistency, are some of the key factors that led Shounak Sengupta, Aleeza Ali, Shaurya Khantwal and Iqra Naaz, students of Apeejay School, Saket, to accomplish exceptional results in the CBSE Class 10 Board exam.

These achievers have worked really hard throughout the academic session to score such remarkable marks. And this simply reflects each students’ individual efforts and aspiration to soar high. Read on as the toppers reveal their success mantra:

Sincerity and hard work

We spoke to Mrs. Sharmistha Sengupta, mother of Shounak Sengupta who topped the CBSE Class 10 Board exam from Apeejay School, Saket with 97%. Her mother remarked, “Shounak has been a sincere and hardworking student year-round. He always scored more than 95% even in his school annual exams. I credit his tutors and educators, who were a great support throughout his preparation phase.”  The passionate chess player used to dedicate 6 to 7 hours daily to study for the Board exams. 

Revise, revise & revise 

The second topper Aleeza Ali, who scored 96.4%, emphasised that active revision is of paramount importance for students appearing for this competitive exam. She said, “I focused on completing my syllabus early, and then engaged in many rounds of revision. I completed two to three rounds of revision of the whole syllabus for each subject. In the last one or two months before the final exam, I solved several mock test papers, like 20/25 specifically for Mathematics and around 10 mock papers for other subjects.” She further added, “Basically, in this exam you need good memory and proper understanding of concepts, which can’t be done in one day.” 

The NEET UG aspirant is already preparing for the mentioned competitive exam and wishes to pursue her MBBS from AIIMS Delhi or Maulana Azad Medical College, Delhi. She advised her juniors, “To be focused and not to get distracted by the things going around in the world. Believe in yourself that you will be able to do it.” 

Focus on daily productivity

Shaurya Khantwal, who secured 95.8%, sincerely believed in daily productivity. “I have been preparing since the session started in March/April, because I knew this exam was going to be a tough competition. I used to study everyday with a focus on daily productivity. Even if it was for 15-20 minutes, I never missed my studies. Moreover, I only referred to NCERT books because it has all the information needed to score well in the Board exam. I would also like to give credit to my class teacher, Rekha ma’am, who helped me a lot.”

Interestingly, Shaurya aced extracurriculars with academics as he was also in the school’s football team (zonal). When asked what was his strategy for preparation, the topper replied,  “Strategies don’t work me and so, I really never created a plan. But I was always focused on my goal and did whatever was needed to accomplish it.”

Shaurya, also highlights that taking exam stress isn’t healthy. “Do not take much pressure. Exams are not just about scoring marks, but also gaining knowledge. I have always put emphasis on gaining knowledge. Be curious and have the aptitude to learn new things.” Shaurya’s career aspiration is to crack JEE. He also aims to study from a university abroad.    

Solve mock test papers, multiple times

Like her batchmate Shaurya, Iqra Naaz, who scored 95.8%, also mentioned that she gave NCERT books a lot of importance. “For Social Science, I didn’t go for any other reference book, but studied from NCERT. I just read all the chapters again and again because if you are thorough with the chapters, you will be able to answer the questions. For Science, my first focus was to understand the concepts well. I also dedicated my time to solve as many questions as I could get from online and other books.”

Further sharing her preparation strategy, the topper highlighted, “My teachers guided me a lot. For Hindi, I practiced my spellings. If I used to find them difficult, I wrote them in a notebook. Also, I completed my entire syllabus in December and after that I only focused on revision. I used to solve sample papers everyday, within 2 hours 30 minutes, to maintain my speed.” She also emphasised that how reading story books helped in reducing her stress and solving mock test papers with her close friends helped in breaking the monotony. 

Iqra, who is fascinated by the anatomy and functioning of the heart,  aspires to become a Cardiologist. Preparing both for NEET UG exam and 12th Board exam, she advises, “Solve as many question papers, just reading the theory will not help. The more you solve the questions, you will get an idea of the exam pattern. You start feeling confident, which plays a very important role during such competitive exams.”