They missed the top ranks by a mark or two but that did not stop the official second and third rank holders from celebrating on Friday.
A total of 125 students came second in the State with 498 marks each. Of, them nine are from the city. And, 20 of the 321 students third rankers across the State who scored 497 marks each were also from Chennai.
K. Devarajan, director of Government Examinations said of the 321, 246 were girls. Chennai alone had eight girls and one boy securing the second rank and 15 girls and five boys in the third rank.
Swathi P, a student of Sri Venkateswara Matriculation, Ambattur who scored a second rank was visibly cheerful. And, not just because she got an incredible total, but also because she would be able to get rid off history once and for all. “I didn’t quite like it. I always ended up confused with so many dates and years,” she said. But, she has still managed to walk away with a hundred in social science. “I see myself as a paediatrician in the near future,” she added.
“Even before I wrote the exam, I expected to get 497 or 498, but I was still scared,” confessed Selina Angeline, a student of Spartan Matriculation.
H. Vasavi of Jaigopal Garodia MHSS, SRP Colony, Jawahar Nagar aimed for the first rank but was still happy that she came third. She scored a centum in Maths, Science and Social Science, 99 in English and 98 in Tamil.
She wants to pursue biology in higher secondary, setting her eye on MBBS. “I want to become a paediatrician as I love children and believe that treating children will bring a lot of happiness.”
Result day began on an anxious note for M. Shubushruthi of Rosary MHSS, Santhome as she could not log onto the website for 15 minutes. “I started to cry when I could not log onto the website after the results were announced. But I was over the moon when I realised I was State third,” she says. Shubushruthi wants to be a gynaecologist.
Another third ranker R. Gayathri says she understood that mere rote learning would never help. “Understanding lessons taught at school is important to achieve good results,” adds this student of Zion MHSS, Selaiyur.
(With additional reporting by Serena Josephine M., Sunitha Sekar, Evelyn Ratnakumar and T. Madhavan)
