Message from ICSE and ISC toppers: Study well and take a chill pill

After an anxious wait, students of Stds X and XII of the Indian Certificate of Secondary Examination (ICSE) finally received their results on Monday.

From Mumbai, Farzan Bharucha scored 99.20% and Rishika Dhariwal scored 99.25% to bag the second rank in the all-India merit list in ICSE and ISC respectively, while Pune girl Muskan Abdullah Pathan topped the country in ICSE with 99.4%.

While exam related stress has become a major concern among teenagers, all of the toppers have only one message to give: study well and don't stress out.

'Hard work paved the way'
Topper is: Muskan Abdullah Pathan
School: Hutchings High School, Pune
Scored: 99.4% in ICSE
The daughter of a doctor mother and a techie father, Muskan wishes to pursue medicine. "In class 9, I was first in my class, after which I got the confidence to top class 10. Accordingly, my hard work paved the way for my dream. I studied daily for four-five hours and I never joined any coaching classes. My schoolteachers helped me a lot to realise my dream. I was preparing to give my 100% but topping the country was never on my mind. I want to be a doctor, as I want to serve the society."

'Breaks are important'
topper is: Farzan Bharucha
School: Green Lawns High School
scored: 99.20% in ICSE
"I was expecting to score around 94 per cent, so my result, was a complete surprise," said Farzan, who plans to purse engineering.

He scored 100/100 in Mathematics. "I would regularly prepare and ask doubts to my teachers. They were very supportive," said Farzan, who de-stresses by cycling on his terrace. His advice to those taking the exam: "It is very important to take regular breaks while studying to keep up momentum and not get stressed out."

'Try to de-stress'
topper is: Rishika Dhariwal
School: Jamnabai Narsee
scored: 99.25% in ISC
The joy of topping in the city and ranking second in the country is yet to sink in for Rishika, "I never studied to top the exams. My plan was to study regularly and score well. I appeared for all small tests with equal seriousness."

Rishika plans to pursue psychology in Delhi University. The city topper's message to her juniors: "Treat the board examination as a regular examination. Take breaks, de-stress and try not to mug it up."

The odds are in their favour

Ruhaan Ankalkoti,
GD Somani School
Scored: 84% in ICSE
Despite having a blood clot in one eye, and undergoing five hours of therapy everyday, leukaemia patient Ruhaan's faith in himself helped him ace the ICSE board exam. "My parents told me I was suffering from leukaemia four weeks ago. But even if I had known it earlier, it wouldn't have made a difference," said Ruhaan, who wants to be an environmental engineer.

Sanjana Patil,
VIBGYOR high school
Scored: 72% in ICSE
Sanjana appeared for her geography exam with an IV drip, after exam stress made her dehydrated and nauseous. "This episode has taught me that there is no point in taking unnecessary stress. It is important to regularly prepare and relax as much as you can at the last minute," said Sanjana who plans to pursue English literature or the French language.

Simran Pathak,
Podar High School
Scored: 97.8% in ICSE
Gymnast Simran travelled to Turkey for a tourney while preparing for the exams and won gold, but her board exam result has been nothing short of a surprise. "I was expecting to score 95%. This is a surprise," she said. "Gymnastics is my passion, but I plan to pursue either law of financial banking for my higher education," said an elated Simran who is currently on holiday with her family in London.

Svojas Pitale,
Podar High School
Scored: 73% in ICSE
"The board exam taught me to control my mood swings," said Svojas, a diabetes type-1 patient. "I used to study for eight hours, but I always wondered if I could score well despite my diabetes. This time, I really wanted to score well, and hence, I started controlling myself to focus more on my studies," said Svojas who wants to be a neurologist.

17,064 Students from state who appeared for ICSE exam
2,318 Students from state who appeared for ISC exam