Time management, consistency, hard work — how did Lucknow toppers ace the UP Board exams?

Excitement and pride lit up the faces of students as the UP Board declared the results of High School and Intermediate Examinations on Friday. School toppers basked in the spotlight, celebrated like celebrities in their own circles, posing for shutterbugs with garlands draped proudly around their necks.

Five students bagged top positions in the Lucknow district in the Intermediate Examinations (Class 12), while seven students secured first, second and third positions in the district in the High School Examinations (Class 10).

Aayush Kumar Maurya, a Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics (PCM) student of SKD Academy Inter College, Rajajipuram, topped the district with 92.85% marks in Class 12. He said he looked up to his brother, a civil service aspirant, while preparing for the examination. “My father, a property dealer, and my mother, a homemaker, supported me the most. I used to devote seven hours to self-study daily. Even watching YouTube tutorials helped me at times. Besides, I continued to play badminton to de-stress myself after day-long studies,” said Maurya, who aspires to pursue civil engineering in the future.

Harshita Johri, 18, a Physics, Chemistry and Biology (PCB) student of Brightland Inter College, and Deepika Sharma, 17, a Humanities student of Bal Nikunj Inter College, Madiyaon, were second toppers in the district in Class 12 with 90.60% marks.

“Attending regular classes and paying heed to what teachers taught us in class helped me achieve a high score. I also devoted about 2–3 hours daily to self-studies. I wish to become a zoological scientist. We had anticipated getting good grades, but becoming a rank holder in the district was far from my imagination,” said Johri.

Pragati Gupta, 15, a student of Bal Guide Inter College; Ritish Kumar, 16 and Safal Mishra, 16, both students of Lucknow Public College, topped the district with 95% marks in Class 10. They unanimously said that consistency and time management helped them attain excellence.

Shriyansh Asthana, 16, a student at Lucknow Public School and Anshika Yadav, a student of Bal Nikunj Inter College, both scored 94.83% and bagged the second position in the district in Class 10.