Toppers’ tips – tried and tested

How did this youngster manage to pull off this coup? One can only say that like the proverbial tortoise, she maintained a slow and steady pace right from the beginning and maintained her cool, unruffled way to reach the finishing line.

Following close on Shagun’s heels is Ananya Lodaya, who with a 94.2 per cent topped the chart from St Helena’s. But for Ananya it was just another first, a position she reserved for herself, from the time she entered school.

Anisha Bhomavat from Fergusson College has the distinction of being the first among girls in the Science stream of the HSC this year. With a 93.67 per cent she also stands second in Pune Division. Neeraj Sane from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Air Force, was another surprise topper with 93.2 per cent. In fact when his father rang him up to deliver the news, Neeraj could hardly believe it. “When my father read out the marks – 94 in Maths and 97 in Physics – I told him to check up again. I’d expected around 89 for Physics, had watched Ben Hur on the late night show before Maths and was a bundle of nerves on the morning of Biology.”

So what made these teenagers reach the pinnacle in their examination results? Was it hours of having their noses glued to books? Was it constant supervision by parents? Was it a total renunciation of extra-curricular activities? Well actually it was none of these. In fact, it was the very opposite.

For Ananya, it was whole-hearted participation in every possible extra-curricular activity – trekking, swimming, tennis, elocution, plays, music – just name it. Says her mother, “Since it was her last year in school, she wanted to take part in everything. And that is what kept her mind so fresh.”

It was only from December that she got down to serious studies. She would put in four to six hours, sometimes at a stretch and during this period nothing could distract her. “It’s no point just sitting with your books and staring at them. I did not make any rigid time-table either. But Maths was something I practised everyday and it was the only subject that I took extra coaching in.”

Neeraj too, feels that concentration is what matters. “There’s no point in studying if your heart is not in it.” He prefers to study in two-hour blocks with 15-minute breaks. Early morning is a good time to begin, with the afternoons left free for some other activities. Regular work is more helpful and Neeraj did just that with daily coaching in Physics, Chemistry and Maths. “After that it was back home and going through whatever was done in the class to refresh my memory. Then I would study a little ahead to make it easier to follow the next day. All it took was a half-hour per subject. And yes,” adds the teenager, “it helps to solve the question papers of previous years, especially in the last one month.”

Anisha too emphasises, “I’ve always been consistent in my studies, right from the time I was in school. If the teacher used to tell us to read a chapter and come the next day, I would do it. I would study for a test even it was for just 20 or 30 marks. That way my work never piled up into one big mountain.” This gave her time to socialise, read, paint, play badminton, go trekking. These would however, be pushed aside in the last two months before D-Day when she would put in as much as eight hours of absolutely undiluted concentrated work.

Regularity was also Shagun’s forte. “Our school prepared us very well. All the revision was done from school and if we just followed everything regularly nothing more was really required.”

While Shagun likes to study with music in the background, Ananya, Anisha and Neeraj leave no room for this distraction. And yes – all these young achievers have always taken studies and homework as their own responsibility from a very early age. Their parents too have provided them with a work atmosphere conductive to studies – less noise, meals and snacks when required – but they have ensured that their children became independent as far as studies was concerned.

So all of you out there – whether in Class II or XII – here is the recipe for success in your next exam. Be regular, do your work every day, don’t leave it for tomorrow. Once you sit down for study, give it all you’ve got – concentrate. And remember that all work and no play makes Jack (and Jill) rather dull.