Head girl of city school tops ISC exams in Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: Her tasks as head girl and president of the interact club did not come in the way of Aashika Treesa Saju of Sishya School in Adyar from succeeding academically. Topping the state in the Indian School Certificate examination (ISC) with a score of 98% is not easy but Aashika believes two months of focused study might have been the key.
It was a few hours after the results were out that Aashika found out she had topped the state.“The news brought tears to my eyes. I knew that she would score good marks, but I did not expect her to top the state,” said her mother Susha Saju. Asked what she believed got her to the top, Aashika said it was “focus and the blessing of the almighty”.
The 18-year-old scored full marks in mathematics, 98 in physics, 99 in computer application, 95 each in chemistry and English. The dancer, who also topped her school in Class 10 ICSE, wants to pursue a degree in computer science from Singapore. “I was never interested in engineering or getting into IIT. The logical aspect of computer programming always attracted me,” she said.
What surprised her was the number of students scoring full marks in mathematics this year. “Most of my friends got full marks. I wouldn’t say the mathematics paper was easy, but the evaluation would have been really lenient,” Aashika said.
The state second rank holder was no less ecstatic when he found he had scored 97.75%. With centum in maths, his favourite, and biology, his least liked, Sujith Matthew John of the Ida Scudder School in Vellore plans to become a doctor like his parents. “It is all by God’s grace,” said Sujith. “I worked hard for it and my parents and teachers motivated me and gave me mental support. I was confident I would do well, but I was stunned when I found out that I had secured a state rank.”
His principal said they expected good things from him. “He is a sincere, honest and respectful student. He is an all-rounder with interest in music, basketball and oration.”
A recipient of the prestigious Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) scholarship from the central government’s department of science and technology, Sujith is an accomplished pianist and plays the guitar.