Bengaluru: A ballerina who found time to strum away at her guitar and play the piano between academics, a studious student who plunged into her Class 10 books before the classes began, a girl who found calm in Kathak dancing amid hectic routine, a boy who made it a point to strike a balance between dribbling his football and studies notwithstanding the fact that he was appearing for class 12 science stream exam…Many class 10 ICSE and class 12 ICS toppers from the city pursued their passion as much they did their academics. TOI spoke to some of the toppers, after the CISCE announced the exam results Wednesday.
Class 10 achievers

“I’m a ballet dancer, and attending dance classes kept me grounded and helped me manage stress. Apart from that, I found great joy in playing guitar and piano. Throughout the year, my sister was my biggest supporter. She helped me study, patiently cleared all my doubts, and consistently rooted for me along with everyone else, including my school staff, family, and friends. I will continue in my school for grade 11 and plan to pursue MBBS,” said Pragati Girish Athreya, Greenwood High, who scored 99.8% in Class 10.
“I focused on prepping for the board exams right after my class 9 tests got over. Scoring 100% in Kannada was something I did not anticipate. However, I believe the initial months of preparation made a real difference in the long run. My advice for the future batch would be to invest time in the early months of Class 10 rather than leave things for the end. Because I started early, I could cut myself some slack in the middle months, participate in co-scholastic activities, and just focus on thorough revision towards the end. I have an interest in Chemistry and will attempt NEET,” said Sakshi Mathapati from Notre Dame Academy who bagged 99.8% in Class 10.
Class 12 toppers
Commerce
A sportsperson by passion, Soham Milind Joglekar from St Joseph’s Boys High School, who scored 99.3%, plays table tennis, football and cricket. Planning to pursue CA, thanks to his love for accountancy, he has joined a coaching class in Malleswaram. Even while many students found economics and accountancy papers tough, Soham thought otherwise. “It could be because they did not understand the concepts well and focused only on theory,” he said. His did not pause his passion for sports even during exams. “My neighbourhood friends would come and call me to play. Even during exams, I used to play at least for half an hour to one hour. For the exams, I studied from June itself and followed my textbooks,” he added.
Science
The Science stream saw two students sharing the top marks—99.5%. Incidentally, they shared a passion for sports as much as being consistent in studies.
Having represented Karnataka in Under-19 national-level chess tournaments and competitions, playing chess is Ashith Kiran Reddy’s way of beating the stress. A student of Gopalan International School, Ashith now plans to pursue a career in research, preferably in the field of biosciences. “I am still waiting to write the ISAT and NEET exams to understand my prospects for higher education,” he said. Absent from social media as he believes it occupies so much time in one’s daily schedule, he said the pre-board examinations did the magic.
Arnay Gupta of Greenwood International, Varthur, is a football player and also plays table tennis and tennis. With 99.5% in Science, he hopes to pursue Computer Science programs at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign or University of Waterloo. “My aim is to build a strong career in Computer Science, live a balanced life, and most importantly, give back to society by helping the disadvantaged children. I’m a Grade 5 piano player, certified by Trinity College, London, and have taught football at Santosh Charitable Trust, something that’s close to my heart. Both my parents are from IIT and work in the IT sector, so I’ve grown up with a deep appreciation for this field,” he said.
“Outside academics, I’ve represented my school in football, and I’ve always followed a balanced study schedule. I make sure to play with my friends every day, no matter what. But when it’s exam time, I give it my all and stay completely focused,” he added.
Humanities
They were classmates in Bethany High, with the same set of subjects, but never in the same friends’ circle. But when the results came out for their Class 12 exams, Natalie Patricia Rodrigues and Ananya Gupta secured 99% in the humanities stream, probably one of the highest in the state.
“I’m not someone who can study late into the night, and neither can I get up early in the morning. So I prefer to use the middle of the day to the maximum. My friends and I would get on a call and tell each other what we were going to study throughout the day so that we can hold each other accountable if we stray from the goal,” said Natalie Patricia Rodrigues.
“I’m into dancing, singing, acting, and athletics, and they definitely helped a lot to keep my mind off all the stress and burnout,” she said. “I wish to pursue clinical psychology and have received acceptance letters from Christ deemed-to-be University and Manipal Academy of Higher Education, but I’m still waiting for the results from Azim Premji University,” she added.
Ananya Gupta has decided to pursue Psychology and Media from Christ deemed-to-be University, Central Campus. “I grew up with a keen eye for writing and enjoy studying psychology as well,” she said.
“I did not count the hours for which I studied but focused on finishing different units according to my timetable. Staying consistent throughout the year is vital. With subjects like Economics, Sociology, Psychology, English, and English Elective, I made sure to write personal notes to understand the concepts better. My parents were very understanding of my situation and provided immense support throughout the course of exams,” she said.
Ananya does not have any presence on social media apps except WhatsApp. “It is a personal preference, but if my professional life requires it, then I’m not totally apprehensive about the idea of social media. I would rather take breaks by going out with my friends or rehearse my Kathak routines rather than spending unhealthy hours on social media,” she said.
—Disha Chatterjee and Deepshikha Acharya