Sharjah: Following the reintroduction of the Indian CBSE Class 10 exams, students in the UAE obtained high results on Tuesday, with Delhi Private School (DPS) Sharjah sweeping the top scores.
Kevin Thomas Plamootil topped the school — and probably the UAE — with 98.8 per cent; Shreya Gangadharan attained 98.4 per cent; and Sanjana Sanjiv Panicker, Antony Kuruvila and Shresha Das all secured third position with 98.2 per cent.
“As of now, there are possibilities that [Plamootil] is also the Gulf topper with 98.8 per cent aggregate,” DPS Sharjah said.
Plamootil, who is from Kerala state in India, scored 494 out of 500.
There is no official announcement of the UAE topper, as there is for India, where four students scored 499 out of 500, the highest marks.
Schools here, comparing each other’s results, point out who they believe to be the UAE topper.
On Tuesday, Plamootil, believed to be the UAE topper, told Gulf News he studied around four hours a day, including on weekends, for about a month before the exams, held in March-April. Plamootil, 15, also kept his mobile phone use to a minimum so he could focus on revision.
He has decided to take Commerce subjects and wants to be a chartered accountant one day. His favourite subject is Maths, in which he earned 98 out of 100.
“I was expecting my [overall] percentage to be in the 90s, but not this high [98.8 per cent]. I thank God, my school, teachers and my parents for all their help,” Plamootil said. Self-motivation and confidence, he added, are pivotal to success in studies.
“We should feel like studying, that feeling should come from within us, not because our parents are forcing us to study. And you have to do your bit, God will do the rest.”
Plamootil has been a DPS Sharjah student since sixth grade. He said: “Our teachers are really helpful and the school organises programmes for those who regularly score high, to keep them motivated … My parents and my younger brother are very happy for me. We’re planning to go out as a family to celebrate.”
At DPS Sharjah, 186 students achieved more than 90 per cent and 341 students scored “distinction”, indicating exceptional attainment.
Vandana Marwaha, principal and director of DPS Sharjah, said, “The school is very proud of the students whose results are a credit to the fantastic dedication from the students and unwavering belief from staff, which is the perfect recipe for success.”
Of the 386 DPS Sharjah students who appeared for the examinations, the school registered a 100 per cent pass rate, with the school average of 86.7 per cent.
Marwaha said it was also heartening to celebrate the success of student Asma Abbas, who has special educational needs and scored 94.4 per cent.
Tuesday’s Class 10 results follow the CBSE Class 12 results, declared on Saturday.
The mandatory Class 10 final exams under the CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education), India’s most popular board, returned this year after years of being replaced by a “continuous and comprehensive evaluation [CCE]” system. Class 10 exams are seen as a preparation ground for the bigger school-leaving Class 12 exams. Class 10 results also influence how students chose “streams” such as Science, Commerce and Humanities.
Over 1.6 million students in India sat for the Class 10 exams, with more than 86 per cent passing.
students from GEMS Education schools in UAE appeared for the grade 10 CBSE exams
In the UAE, 2,708 students from GEMS Education schools sat for the exams, with 21.3 per cent of them scoring above 90 per cent marks. Three GEMS students scored 98 per cent.
Michael Guzder, vice-president of education at GEMS Education, said: “The tremendous efforts of our principals and teachers have borne fruit. This year the re-modelled examination assessment pattern was a worrying factor, but solving of past papers and plenty of practice examinations and tests have definitely helped pupils score high marks.”
At Indian High School Dubai also, all its 783 students who took the exams passed, with 30.4 per cent scoring 90 per cent or above. Sreelakshmi Gangadharan was the school topper with 98 per cent.
Top 10 students
Kevin Thomas Plamootil
■ 98.8 per cent
DPS Sharjah
Shreya Gangadharan
■ 98.4 per cent
DPS Sharjah
Sanjana Sanjiv Panicker
■ 98.2 per cent
DPS Sharjah
Antony Kuruvila
■ 98.2 per cent
DPS Sharjah
Shresha Das
■ 98.2 per cent
DPS Sharjah
Sara Iqbal Ahmad Ansari
■ 98 per cent
THE MILLENNIUM SCHOOL, DUBAI
Arunima Mohanan
■ 98 per cent
GEMS OUR OWN ENGLISH HIGH SCHOOL, Dubai
Muskaan Samal
■ 98 per cent
GEMS OUR OWN INDIAN SCHOOL, DUBAI
Sreelakshmi Gangadharan
■ 98 per cent
Indian High School
Anagha Jayarajan
■ 97. 8 per cent
Gulf Indian High School, Dubai
Note: The list is unofficial, provided by schools. Gulf News cannot confirm the results independently. Some percentages were obtained by multiple students, whose names may not appear in the list.
