It is said that practice makes a person perfect, and in K. Ayisha Thasneem’s case, it just might be true. She has scored 497 out of 500, the highest in Chennai from government schools. While the teachers at her school, Government Muslim Higher Secondary School, Chennai, note that she is a bright student, they said rigorous preparation, with special focus on certain areas of improvement, helped her succeed.

While Ayisha was very happy about her marks, she was, however, a little disappointed too. She was expecting to score more in Tamil. “I owe my marks to my parents and teachers who supported me in my studies. My mother, who runs a tuition centre, was very helpful in getting my doubts cleared. Even when I scored less than expected, nobody berated me but continued to encourage me to perform better,” she said.

Ayisha’s father is a tailor, while her mother is a homemaker who also takes tuition. But it was her teachers who identified her potential. “She is a very intelligent child. When she was selected for the National Means Cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme, we understood that she had a lot of potential,” said the principal K. Kanmanipriya.

Ayisha scored a centum in science, maths and social science. She dreams of being a doctor and will take the biology stream in her upcoming Class 11. “Abdul Kalam is someone I look up to as his scientific knowledge was great and worked on missiles,” she added.

Ms. Kanmani pointed out that the teachers would sit with the children after exams with their answer sheets to work on their weak areas. “After the routine exams, each of us subject teachers would sit with the students to work on their areas; it would range from handwriting to working on the small aspects of mathematical writing,” she added.

The teachers noted that Ayisha was very talented and would push her to take part in a lot of the talent shows and competitions taking place in various schools. “She is a determined child and excels in most of the activities that she pursues,” said Ms. Kanmani.