The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) declared the Std X ICSE and Std 12 ISC results on Thursday, with several students from Mumbai showing that one can achieve anything if one persists.
Disability no bar
Parv Gada of Malad-based Witty International School secured 97 per cent, emerging fifth in his school despite being wheelchair-bound since birth due to a condition called Ullrich myopathy. “He managed both the academics and extracurricular activities with the help of his teachers, friends, and peers at school. He did so without any tuition,” said his mother, Dipti Gada.
Beating the odds
Chembur-based Ayush Kumar, 15, studied for his Std X board exams at the Ryan International School while watching his father battle serious health issues. On March 18, Ayush returned from his exam to see his father partially conscious. Soon after, his health took a turn for the worse, and Ayush lost his father in the ambulance while taking him to the hospital.
Ayush Kumar scored 85 per cent
“My father got a paralytic stroke during the lockdown. While he recovered from that, a few years later, he also had to face kidney failure and gangrene. Watching him go through so much pain was emotionally very difficult. His last words to my mother were about taking care of me… supporting my ambitions; which is why I decided to study for and take on the last paper as well. I would find time between the rituals to revise for my exam,” Kumar, who scored 85 per cent in the boards, and 93 in his last (computer) exam, told mid-day.
Twins top charts
Mumbai’s twin students, Kanad Shimpi and Kanika Shimpi, studying at Kandivli’s Gundecha Education Academy, emerged as high scorers with the brother, Kanad, scoring 91 per cent and Kanika reaching the 95 per cent mark. They spent months at their neighbourhood library to find the right environment for concentration.
Twin toppers Kanad Shimpi and Kanika Shimpi
“I am a written-learner… I need to write everything down to remember it. For nearly 4-5 months, I went to the Gyan Vihar Library in Borivli to focus on my studies,” said Kanika. “I spent from 10 am to 10 pm at the library. The environment helped us focus on the syllabus. I tried to summarise the syllabus to remember things during the exam,” Kanad said.
Top scores exceed 99%
BMC’s Mumbai Public School ICSE, Woollen Mills, the only public ICSE school in the city, secured a full pass percentage at the Std X boards, with 20 out of 27 students scoring over 75 per cent. Veer Khatikmare, with 96.60 per cent, emerged as the school topper.
At private schools, several students surpassed the 99 per cent mark. At Malad’s Ryan International School, Vidhi Paryani scored the highest Std X score with 99.6 per cent, while Yashowardhan Dhate from Campion School scored 99.4 per cent. Sudarshan Manikantan and Arsh Bansal from Dhirubhai Ambani International School also scored 99.6 per cent.
Braving injuries
Another Malad-based student studying with the Ryan International School group, Yashica Dayma, 16, met with an accident right before her Economics board exam.
Yashica Dayma had an accident on the way to her exam
At 10.30 am, just 30 minutes before the reporting time, Yashica and her mother were riding to the exam centre via Valnai-Meeth Chowki when a pedestrian started crossing the road. Yashica’s mother swerved, trying to avoid a collision, but both fell.
The two were taken to the hospital, and soon after, Yashica travelled to the exam centre despite having bruises on her arms, legs, and hips. “More than the physical injuries, I was shaken up and worried about the well-being of my mother. She is still on bed rest due to a ligament tear. I tried to calm my mind, narrated the answers to a writer, and fared well in the exam,” said Yashica.
