Having studied hard all year, 18-year-old Antra Kapoor, a Class XII student of The Shri Ram School, Moulsari campus, in DLF Phase-III here, had no doubt that she will fare well in the board exam. However, she never dreamt of being the National Capital Region’s Indian School Certificate (ISC) examination topper with an astounding score of 99.25%.
‘Breaking news’
A commerce student, Antra said her teacher broke the news over telephone on Monday afternoon.
“I was so excited but it all happened so quickly that I did not even find the time to react,” said Antra.
She said her parents and teachers were “very supportive” and that the atmosphere was “comfortable” all around before the exam
“I continued my swimming classes and even went shopping with family and friends. I never felt the need to curb my interests and hobbies,” she said .
Her mother Poonam Kapoor, who had accompanied her to the school after the results were announced, described her as “hard-working and disciplined”.
“She has always done well in academics. I was expecting her to get a good score. Like her father, she is hard-working and disciplined. What ever she does, she gives it her best. Her time management was meticulous and she stuck to the schedule she had planned,” said Ms. Kapoor.
While Antra secured the all-India second rank, she was closely followed by her schoolmates and NCR humanities toppers Sanjana Hira and Tanushree Pendharkar, both at 99%.
Sanjana and Tanushree, both of whom secured the all-India third rank, also happen to be close friends and learn Bharatanatyam.
“We were in the same section and went to the same teacher for maths tuition. We have scored the same marks earlier too,” said Tanushree, who credited her success to her teachers, who she said were “more like friends”.
“Most of the preparation for the exams was done in school itself. It left us with a lot of time for activities like sports and modelling,” said Tanushree, who plans to study liberal arts abroad.
Sanjana, who is eyeing a seat in Delhi University, said she never felt the pressure during exams.
Jivansh Kakkar, who topped the NCR with a whopping 98.8% in the ICSE examination, injured his index finger when he jumped with joy after hearing the results and hit the ceiling fan.
Hoping to be a doctor, The Shri Ram School student said being regular to school and listening attentively to the teacher in the class was his “mantra” for success.
Principal Manisha Malhotra said the current batch was one of the brightest so far and the faculty expected them to do really well. She said even during vacations, the faculty remained in touch with students over Skype to help them with studies and was “supportive and approachable”.
