Girls do it again

Of the seven toppers,three are from Yadavindra Public School (YPS),Mohali and the remaining from Chandigarh. Also,this year,the results of government schools are better than private schools.

The top three

Garima Kaushal

CBSE (Class XII) topper

Daughter of an IAS officer from Haryana cadre,Garima scored 96.4 per cent marks in commerce stream. She wants to take admission in a reputed college in Delhi,though she is also preparing for Chartered Accountant (CA) course.

“Without my family’s support and confidence,I would not have scored so well,” a beaming Garima said.

Garima’s father,Sanjeev Kaushal,is the Managing Director with the Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited (HPGCL),Panchkula,and her mother,Namita Kaushal,is a homemaker.

“If I’m not able to clear the CA entrance exam,I will do either B.Com (honours) or Economic (honours) from Delhi University,” she said. “Civil services is an option right now,not my ultimate objective.”

Garima is also a national-level football player. She participated in the under-19 Football Championship in 2009 and 2008. She also played table tennis at the zonal level.

Aanchal Balaik

ISC (Class XII) topper

Without taking any coaching classes,Aanchal secured 92.6 per cent marks in Humanities stream.

“I am feeling on the top of the world,” said the daughter of a bank manager in her Phase-X house,which was swarming with relatives,friends and neighbours. Aanchal,who studied for almost six hours daily,attributed her success to “hard work with a dash of fun and support and guidance from her parents and teachers”.

She wants to enter the civil services or become a psychologist. Aanchal’s mother Anita is a housewife and elder brother Aatish is a budding cricketer.

Agam Singh Bedi

ICSE (Class X) topper

“Very excited,” Agam,the only son of a doctor couple who scored 96.5 per cent,said. Agam was expecting around 95 per cent. “Regular studies and hard work is my success mantra,” he said. Besides attending day boarding school (from 8 am to 4 pm),Agam used to devote four to six hours daily to his studies. He wants to become an IAS officer. His parents,G S Bedi and Ravneet Kaur,work at GMSH-16 and GMCH-32,respectively.

Top seven in their streams

Tushar Dogra

CBSE (Class XII) topper

Son of a mechanical engineer from Punjab Engineering College,Tushar has scored 96.2 per cent.

“I had promised my principal that I would be among the toppers in the tricity and also top the school. I have kept the promise. I owe this achievement to my parents who gave me immense support,” he said.

Drishan Arora

CBSE (Class XII) topper

Tushar and Drishan share the top slot in their category — both have scored 96.2 per cent. Son of IAS parents Rajiv Arora and Jyoti Arora,Drishan wants to get in to IIT Delhi. “I have no role model but I’m a follower of Richard Finman. I want to pursue research in Physics and earn a name for the country,” he said.

Anam Siddiqui (medical)

CBSE (Class XII) topper

Since Class I,Anam has been pursuing her dream to become a doctor. She has scored 96 per cent and cleared the CBSE PMT preliminary entrance exam.

Daughter of a Junior Warrant Officer in the Air Force,Junaid Siddiqui,Anam credits her success to her school and parents.

Saloni Singh

CBSE (Class XII) topper

Daughter of a retired army officer and a creative designer,Saloni has scored 95 per cent. “I studied for close to five hours and never felt that it was a burden,as all subjects interest me. My elder sister was also an inspiration and I wanted to better her score,” she said.

Three years ago,her elder sister had topped the school in the humanities stream.

Jasika Saluja (commerce)

ISC (Class XII) topper

Jasika has scored 95 per cent and attributes her success to her family and teachers,who “supported her in every possible way”. “I took frequent breaks from studies,enjoyed movies and went out with friends. I believe what worked for me was a clear idea of the concepts,” she said.

Simran Aulakh (medical)

ISC (Class XII) topper

Simran was “shocked” to know that she scored 89.6 per cent marks. She owes her success to her professor parents Charanjit Singh and Satbeer Kaur,who teach in Panjab University. “I opted for Mathematics despite not doing very well in the subject earlier. But this time,it took me ahead with 90 marks,which I never expected,” she said.

Ravina Nain

ISC (Class XII) topper

“It’s a great feeling. I am on the top of the world,” Ravina,who scored 89.6 per cent,said. “When you work hard,you achieve success and when you are successful,there is nothing like it,” she said. These days,Ravina is preparing for IIT-JEE and wants to become a civil servant.

Jairaj Dhaliwal (commerce)

ISC (Class XII) topper

Jairaj has scored 88.4 per cent. “Hard work and excellent guidance from teachers,besides support from parents made me successful,” he said. Jairaj did not devote much time to studies but was “regular and serious”.

Photos by Jasbir Malhi,Jaipal Singh,Sumit Malhotra

Quick take

* Overall pass percentage in region,77.7 per cent

* In CBSE Class XII,73.52 per cent of the boys and 83.48 per cent of the girls passed

* Pass percentage of Kendriya Vidyalayas 90.96 per cent

* Government schools 79.93 per cent

* Private schools 77.60 per cent

Top ten government schools

* GMSSS,Manimajra: 96.70 pass percentage

* GMSSS-37: 96.57

* GMSSS-16: 94.75

* GMSSS-35: 92.65

* GSSS,Manimajra (Timber Market): 92.57

* GMSSS-23: 90.74

* GMSSS 19: 90.40

* GSSS Maloya: 86.84

* GMSSS 33: 85.61

* GMSSS 46: 83.84