It was a joyous Monday at the Presidency School, Bangalore South. Two CBSE class 10 toppers in the city are from this school.

Aishwarya Hariharan Iyer and Naladala Disha Chowdary, both from the same school, secured 497 of 500. Prithvi P Shenoy from Vidyaniketan Public School, Ullal and K V Pranav, a student of Sri Chaitanya Techno School, J P Nagar also scored 497.

Aishwarya attributes her score to working consistently and studying the NCERT textbooks thoroughly. Meditation helped her prepare better during the exams.

Toppers’ strategy

Aishwarya had framed a timetable too, where she dedicated specific days to specific subjects. She didn’t find the need to take extra tutorials.

“My parents motivated me. There was no pressure to score high in exams. I feel I must pay them back for all the support and be grateful,” she said.

The topper is interested in swimming and poetry. She is keen on research and plans to study quantum physics. Principal Bhuvaneshwari J recalled Aishwarya’s excellence in extracurricular activities.

“She is great at script writing,” the principal said, adding that providing remedial classes and model question papers to students helped immensely.

Naladala Disha Chowdary spent a lot of time revising each subject and studied six to eight hours a day. She did not take up extra tutorials. She likes reading Indian mythology and science fiction. She hopes to take up medicine so she can pursue her interest in biology.

Procrastination was a strict no for Prithvi P Shenoy. She studied all that was taught in class the same day. “Understanding the concept is very important,” she said. 

Shenoy loves science. Having completed an internship at the IISc recently, she plans to write the NEET exam in 2021 and is also interested in civil services. She wishes to be an author as well.

K V Pranav hopes to pursue medicine.