Winners all

Their wish to succeed kept them on their toes. Encouragement from friends and teachers gave them the confidence to do well.

Twin sisters V.R.Jayapradha and V.R.Jayasruthi of Vidyodaya Girls Higher Secondary School in T.Nagar.

The success stories of the toppers of the Higher Secondary Examination of the Tamil Nadu State Board reiterates that dedication and hard work always pays off. “I read every lesson thoroughly, instead of going by important portions or questions,”

K. SANDHYA , reveals her success secret. A student of the S.R.D.F.Vivekananda Vidyalaya Higher Secondary School, Chengalpattu, Sandhya was placed first in the category of students who studied Tamil or any other language, with a score of 1,191 marks.

K. Rekha of Sri Vijay Vidyalaya MHSS from Hosur, topped the state rank list with a score of 1,190, while the top scorers from Chennai, didn't figure in the official list of toppers because they had not taken Tamil as their first language.

“I didn't have a strict time schedule. It depended on the day's activities,” said Sandhya, but adds that she studied regularly. She chills out by watching T.V and playing. Sandhya's parents, S. Kannan and K. Sivakami are BSNL employees. Sandhya thanks her principal and teachers, “There was no pressure on us. My teachers motivated me. Like many other schools, we didn't have extra classes after school hours or repeated tests. The coaching was very systematic, with classes from nine to four, though we had special classes sometimes. We got time to relax and study on our own.”

Sandhya is a cricketer and had played for the Tamil Nadu under-19 team. She has been attending week-end coaching classes from Std VI to XI, but dropped out once she reached Std XII.

For

JAYAPRADHA V.R . of Vidyodaya Girls Higher Secondary School, T.Nagar, who scored 1190, the second rank was unexpected. She attended tuition classes for Maths, Physics and Chemistry. “Whatever was taught in school, I tried to finish those portions on that day itself and if anything was remaining I covered it by the week-end.” Her favourite subject is Maths, and she has scored centum in Maths and Physics. Her twin sister,

V.R. JAYASRUTHI missed the rank by three marks. “We study together. Discussing questions and clearing doubts with each other always helped. Usually we study till 11 in the night and during exam time it extended up to 12.” “French was very easy. We have no complaints that people who chose other languages are not selected in the rank list. “It's all because of our teachers, especially our principal Annie Mohan encouraged us to perform well,” said Jayapradha and Jayasruthi.

S. MAHALAKSHMI of H.F.C. Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Keelkattalai, won the third rank by scoring 1,189 marks. “I never expected this; it was a bit of a surprise. Mahalakshmi believes that there is no point in forcing yourself to study. When you are in the mood you should do it. “My mind is clearer at night and so I spent more time studying at night. Our teachers were very friendly and encouraging. My friends used to say that they wanted me to score good marks,” said Mahlakshmi. “They kept saying that I will be able to do it.”

“The credit goes to the school and the teachers. They had an excellent coaching system. They give scholarships to top scorers which is very encouraging,” said K. Sridharan, Mahalakshmi's father who works in the Bureau of Indian Standards. A top scorer in class, Mahalakshmi has been receiving scholarship from Std VII to XII , which entitles her to a discount of 50 per cent of educational expenses. The result was unbelievable. We are really happy.”

Mahalakshmi'S favourite subjects are Maths, Physics and Computer science. “This year I concentrated on studies alone.”

Engineering seems to be the favourite option among the toppers. Jayapradha wants to do ECE , while Sandhya is contemplating on doing engineering and then going for the civil services. Mahalaskhmi wants to join Computer Engineering or ECE in Anna University.

While taking pride in their achievement, all the toppers agree that the evaluation system should change.

“In the state board they expect us to reproduce the exact words in the textbook. It only encourages rote learning. There is no distinction between people who really know and who memorise. Whereas in CBSE they are made to understand the concept and apply it practically,” said Mahalakshmi. Jayapradha agrees with Sandhya while Jayashruthi said “If you don't understand something, even if you try to mug up it will not stay in your memory.” “There should be some other criteria for admissions. Sometimes for one mark you might loose admission in a good college,” Mahalakshmi added