Pupils in the UAE secured impressive scores in the Indian School Certificate examinations, with some placing among the highest performers globally.
Hundreds of teenagers across the country received their ICSE and ISC results on Friday, and many walked away with the perfect score of 100 in some subjects.
At Ambassador School in Dubai, of the 25 pupils in Grade 12 that sat the ISC exam, 16 scored a batch average above 90 per cent.
A further 24 sat the ICSE (Grade 10) exam, and 16 pupils secured an average above 90 per cent.
Speaking on results day, Sheela Menon, principal at Ambassador School, said pupils did an excellent job to secure such strong results in the middle of a pandemic.
"The splendid performance of our pupils came as a breath of fresh air and confirmation of the belief that there are some certainties in these uncertain times," she said.
"We are once again elated with the performance of our ISC and ICSE pupils who outperformed the previous batches.
"The consistency in record-breaking results for the last four years reflects the efforts of our resilient students, teachers and parents."
She said pupils at the school emerged as "world and UAE toppers" in mathematics, physics, commerce, computer science and physical education, with a perfect score of 100 in these subjects.
Ritika Iyer, 17, received great news to kick start her weekend.
She was the school topper in Grade 12 and scored an average 98.7 per cent, with 100 in mathematics, physics and computer science.
“Honestly speaking the news is yet to sink in,” Ritika said.
“I have been very systematic with my studies right from the beginning and hoped to do very well.
“Being the school topper in grade 10 way back in 2018 and again in grade 12 would not have been possible without the continued support of my teachers and parents.”
She was closely followed by Naher Bhasin, 17, who scored an average of 97.2 per cent and 100 in commerce.
Scoring the highest mark in the school in his ICSE results was Harsh Manghnani, 15.
He opened his results on Friday to reveal he secured an average grade of 98.4 per cent.
He also scored 100 in both computer applications and history civics and geography.
“Despite this enviable achievement, [there is] a little regret for us all because we are missing the vibrant energy of the school, the bear hugs from friends and teachers to celebrate,” he said.
Riya Sharma, 15, also scored an impressive 98 per cent followed by Kishore Suresh, 15, with 97.80 per cent.
The ISC school average of 89.7 per cent was an all-time high for the school.
In the UAE, only a handful of schools follow the ICSE and ISC exams, including JSS International School and Gems Modern Academy.
A total of 150 pupils from Gems sat the ISC exams and 205 students sat the ICSE exams this year.
The ICSE pupils surpassed international benchmarks, with a 100 per cent pass rate and an average of 91.6 per cent – a record high for the school.
The campus also recorded 68 scores of 100 per cent across a range of different subjects. The top performing pupils were Vishnumaya Deepakchandran and Mobina Khan, securing scores of 98.2 per cent.
Nargish Khambatta, principal at Gems Modern Academy said pupils had performed brilliantly "despite the pendulous swing of uncertainty due to the Covid-19 pandemic".
"ICSE students faced a particularly challenging situation, as they were caught between preparing for the remaining board exams and continuing with their Grade 11 classes as we embarked on an interesting start of the new academic year via remote learning."
In ISC, the campus set a new school record, achieving an average score of 90.4 per cent this year.
The results included 40 scores of 100 per cent and 62 per cent of those who were graded this year achieved an average score of 90 per cent and above - compared to 48 per cent last year.
The top-performing ISC students, Meghna Jain and Samrudhi Saju, achieved near-perfect scores of 99 per cent.
Overall, the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) declared a 99.3 per cent pass rate for ICSE pupils and 96.8 per cent for ISC, worldwide, this year.
Both scores topped last year's global average.
Due to the current Covid-19 social distancing measures, most pupils logged online to receive their results via cisce.org or through their school portal.
In March, pupils across the country had to make a quick transition to e-learning when the World Health Organisation declared the coronavirus a global health pandemic.
As a result, schools nationwide either postponed or cancelled end-of-year exams all together.
Last month, the CISCE said pupils in India and abroad who were unable to complete their final exams would be assessed on the basis of internal assessments or pre-board tests.
In 2019, more than 1.9 million pupils passed the ICSE exams, while 83,697 candidates qualified in ISC. The overall pass percentage was recorded at 98.5 per cent for ICSE and 96.5 per cent for ISC.