The real city topper

VASHI: If the board were to consider all-round ability over mere studies, Teena Andrade from Father Agnel’s Multipurpose High School, Vashi, would have been the Mumbai division topper.

Teena, a national-level footballer who scored 606 marks, got 25 marks for sporting excellence, taking her total to 631 (97.07%), three more than the two who were declared toppers. But the board does not consider marks allotted for extra-curricular activities. So, Teena, with 92.7 per cent, did not make the merit list.

Father Saturnino Almeida, principal of the school, thinks the board errs in not including extra-curricular activities in its ranking. “We encourage kids to be all-rounders, not just study,” he said. “The 25 marks are an encouragement for students to not give up on sports just because they are in the tenth standard. A student scoring 97 per cent even as she excels in sports is an achievement in itself.”

When she heard the results, Teena thought she had topped her school. She was surprised to learn that she had scored more than the Mumbai topper.

Teena plans to pursue engineering even as she continues with sports. Asked if she was upset about missing the merit list, she admitted that it hurt but said she was happy to have scored more than the official topper. “The city toppers are just studying,” she said. “I am excelling in all fields. That is motivation enough.”
a_anisha@dnaindia.net