Coimbatore/Tirupur/Nilgiris: Coimbatore recorded improved pass percentage in the Class X board exam this year, but its ranking slipped by one spot. Meanwhile, Tirupur and the Nilgiris improved both their pass percentage and ranking.Coimbatore district recorded a 97.09% pass rate in the Class X public exam this year, with 36,742 of the 37,844 students who sat for the exam clearing it. Girls outperformed boys in pass numbers and percentage, with 18,982 girls passing at 98.16% against 17,760 boys at 95.97%.Despite improving the pass percentage to 97.09 from last year's 96.47%, the district slipped to seventh place in the state ranking after finishing sixth in 2024. As many as 251 schools achieved a 100% pass rate, including 52 govt schools, 21 aided schools and 178 private schools.R Balamurali, chief educational officer, Coimbatore, said officials had analyzed school-wise data and taken steps to improve the pass percentage this year. As a result, the district recorded an increase of 1.69% in pass rate compared to the previous year.All 67 candidates from two tribal residential schools - Anaikatti Govt Tribal Residential Higher Secondary School and Muttathuvayal Govt Tribal Residential High School – cleared the exam. Similarly, all 45 inmates who appeared for the exam at the Coimbatore Central Prison also passed.In city corporation limits, pass rate was recorded at 94.38% with 1,748 of the 1,852 students who appeared for the exam clearing it. Among those cleared the exam were 722 boys and 1,026 girls. Following the announcement of results, schools saw students and parents gathering to finalize Class XI subject choices. Several schools have started distributing application forms for admission.In Tirupur district, 27,933 of the 29,013 students who sat for the exam passed, taking the overall pass rate to 96.28%. The pass rate stood at 95.04% for boys and 97.45% for girls. Tirupur improved its state ranking to 11th this year, up from 21st in 2024 and 17th in 2025. A total of 184 schools, including 60 govt schools, recorded a 100% pass rate.The Nilgiris district improved its ranking to 10 with a 96.32% pass rate from 27 last year. Of the 6,740 students who appeared for the exam, 6,492 passed. At least 106 of the 184 schools in the district - including 53 govt schools - achieved a 100% pass rate.