Talented keyboard player Raksha Gopal struck all the right chords -- and ended up today with the highest score of 99.6 per cent marks in school-leaving examinations conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) this year.
Raksha, a humanities student at Amity International School, Noida, said she was expecting a "good" result but was surprised to find that she was just two marks short of a perfect 100.
"I was expecting about 95 per cent, but 99.6 per cent was unimaginable," she said.
Raksha, who stood first among almost 11 lakh students across India, scored cent per cent marks in three subjects -- English core, political science and economics -- and 99 per cent in two subjects -- psychology and history.
She is keen to study political science in the University of Delhi. The top three colleges that she has in mind are Lady Shri Ram, Miranda House and Jesus and Mary.
"Once in college, I will decide on the future course of action," she said.
Raksha, who was "fully focused" on her subjects, said mock tests helped her prepare. She did not take any private lessons for the examinations.
Her father, Gopal Srinivasan, said she had the freedom to plan out her timetable for revision. "We never put any pressure on Raksha. I always tell her to concentrate on studies and not go under the tension of achieving the topper slot," said Srinivasan, the chief finance officer in the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation.
Mother Ranjani Gopal said she concentrated on feeding her, and ensuring that she slept well.
Raksha's sister Prerna, who studies bio-chemistry at the Institute of Home Economics, Delhi University, said she provided a "supportive environment" to her younger sibling, a keen keyboard player.
With 99.4 per cent marks, Chandigarh's Bhoomi Sawant, a science student, scored the second highest marks. Mannat Luthra and Aditya Jain jointly bagged the third rank with 99.2 per cent in the commerce stream.
Sawant, a student of DAV School in Sector 8, scored 100 out of 100 in physics, chemistry, mathematics and computer science and 97 out of 100 in English.
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