‘I don’t know where I lost 2 marks’: UAE girl scores 1,198 out of 1,200 in HSE Kerala Plus Two exams

Abu Dhabi: Standing on the edge of a near-perfect score: 1,198 out of 1,200, Abu Dhabi girl Hanan Nawraz Bind Faisal can’t help but wonder: “Where did I lose those two marks?”

Her innocent curiosity is as heartwarming as her extraordinary achievement.

A student of the Model Private School in Abu Dhabi, Hanan soared in the Kerala Board Plus Two Higher Secondary Examination (HSE), securing an impressive 99.8 per cent in the science stream. She scored a perfect 100 in Malayalam, Chemistry, Biology, and Mathematics, missing just one mark each in English and Physics.

“I think it must have been in a long answer,” she said, referring to the elusive point lost in Physics.

Interestingly, the UAE topper, Mohammed Mursil, who secured a perfect 100 per cent, is also from her school.

“But I wasn’t expecting such high marks,” said the soft-spoken 12th grader, the eldest of four siblings, who celebrated her success by cutting a cake with writings: ‘Congrats Topper 99.8%’

Hanan credits her remarkable performance to year-long preparations.

“Towards the end, the school’s model exams and revision tests helped a lot. Also, during preparations, I completely stayed away from social media, especially Instagram and TikTok. That had a big impact.”

In addition to her focused study routine, Hanan also found strength in prayer.

“I used to pray a lot. It gave me peace and helped me stay calm and composed. It was like meditation.”

“I didn’t have fixed hours. I studied whenever I could, and when I felt stretched, I’d go for a walk. I also practice karate. I’m a brown belt and that helped too.”

Hanan now has her sights set on the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) – the entrance exam for undergraduate medical education in India – and is preparing to head to Kerala for coaching.

“I want to become a doctor,” she said with quiet determination.

When the HSE results were announced, the entire family gathered around a laptop screen, but it took some patience.
“The system crashed. We waited for 30 minutes before the results finally showed up. We were all so happy.”

Her advice is simple yet powerful: “Live without any regret,” she said, stepping confidently into the next chapter of her academic journey.