Time management, social media ban, mental toughness: success mantras from toppers at Apeejay School, Kharghar

Class 12 students of Apeejay School Kharghar have made their teachers proud. 

Among Science students, Harmandeep Singh is the topper with a score of 97.4%.

In the Commerce stream, Harsh Aditya Sharma scored 96.8%. All the nine toppers of Science and Commerce Stream were felicitated by the Principal Tejaswini Katdare.

Aspiring to be an aerospace engineer at the Indian Space Research Organisation or NASA, Harmandeep Singh (18), topped the Science stream at Apeejay School Kharghar with a score of 97.4%. He scored an identical 99 in both Mathematics and Physics, 98 in Chemistry, 97 in English and 94 in Computer Science.  

Sharing his study technique, Singh said, “It is very important to plan the week beforehand and set tasks for every day. Studying for an entire day without a particular plan to follow is not worth it. I used to plan my week. I didn’t study all day. I ensured that the time I studied, I focused entirely on the topic at hand and I didn’t distract myself.”

Having attempted the JEE-entrance examination, Singh said after school and JEE coaching and school there was barely any time left for anything else. “I did self-study for just 2-3 hours in a day,” Singh said.

Talking about how he balanced preparing for the boards and JEE entrance, he said, “JEE is more difficult. The basic foundational knowledge is the same. So I always used to begin with NCERT as it helped me with both boards as well as JEE. Even the JEE syllabus is based on NCERT. It just tests the concepts on a higher level. I used to study with NCERT, solve all the questions, assignments given by the teachers and then I used to go through my coaching material and solve higher level questions,” he explained.

Abhinandan Mohanty (17) is the second highest scorer in the Science stream with 96.4 %. He scored 100 marks in Chemistry, 99 in Mathematics, 96 in Physics, 94 in English and 93 in Computer Science.

“I am planning to take up B.tech in Mathematics and Computing,” he said. Mohanty is aspiring to be a researcher in the same field and go into professional teaching later. He has recently appeared for the JEE-mains examination and has secured 99.16 percentile based on the first two rounds. “I have given three rounds as of now, and the fourth is on August 26. Out of the three rounds, the results of the third have not been announced yet,” says Mohanty.

About scoring a perfect 100 in Chemistry, he says, “I read all the NCERT books prescribed to us thoroughly and wrote all the reactions. Everything written in the book is important and I maintain a separate notebook where I have compiled all the important points and I used to revise them frequently.”

Sharing the study technique for both boards and JEE, Mohanty said, “You don’t have to do any exceptional thing but do simple things exceptionally. Revise often. And develop smart strategies on how to attempt the paper. Time management also becomes very important. ”

Harshaditya Sharma (17) topped his school in the Commerce Stream with 96.8 % marks. Sharma says he doesn’t obsess over results but focuses on working hard and the process.

Born and brought up in Bahrain till he was 13, Sharma scored 99 marks in Economics, 97 in Mathematics and 96 apiece in Business studies, Accountancy and English. He is pursuing his B.Sc in Economics after securing the 336th rank in NCAT.

 “I am a sportsman. I have represented my school in football. I am also part of many clubs. I run marathons. Through my active participation in sports and being part of so many teams and franchises, I have developed an attitude of trusting the process. Whatever happens, whether the results follow or not, I believe that it is very important to follow the process,” he said.

“Other than anything else, mental toughness, being mindful and living in the moment is important,” he said.

Believing in the right mindset, Sharma went off social media. “It ensured that I got rid of all distractions. I used to switch off my mobile and at 7 pm I used to check it for 10 minutes for important updates, if any. I remained focused on my tasks,” he said.

Talking about his study technique he said, “Time blocking is the key. I would set a time limit and targets for that time. For each and every hour there was a target. Target met, rewards attained.”

Khushi Patil (17) is the second highest scorer in Commerce Stream with a score of 96.2 % marks. She got 99 in both Economics and Business Studies, 96 in English, 95 in Accountancy and 92 in Computers.

Patil is planning to pursue an Integrated Programme in Management (IPM) and will take Finance and Accounts as her specialisation. 

Hard work since Day 1 and practising every day, were her success mantras. “I used to practice how to write answers, I focused on revisions frequently. I always set a target for each day and there was no turning back,” she said.

To score good marks in Economics and Business Studies, Patil said, “You must understand the concepts rather than learning it. It helps you write your own answers, as these two subjects are theoretical and have a lot of scope.”

“The excellent result is evidential of the continuous hard work and sincerity of our students and teachers throughout the year. The result reflects the consistent efforts of our bright students, industrious teachers and supportive management.”

-Ms. Tejaswini Katdare, Principal