Shillong, May 25: Sherwood School in Tura, the headquarters of West Garo Hills district in Meghalaya, has excelled in the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examinations 2015, the results of which were declared this morning.
While Sherwood provided the topper, a student of Mawlai Presbyterian Secondary School in Shillong came a close second, creating history for his 27-year-old school.
The Meghalaya Board of School Education also announced the results of the Higher Secondary School Leaving Certificate (HSSLC) in the arts stream today.
Subhadeep Mandal of Sherwood School topped the SSLC examinations with 572 marks (out of 600), securing distinction in English, mathematics, science & technology, social studies, health education and Hindi.
Ricarldy Dkhar of Mawlai Presbyterian Secondary School in Mawlai Iewrynghep locality here, closely followed Mandal with 569 marks and distinction in English, mathematics, science & technology, social studies, health education and Khasi.
Ricarldy created history as the first student in his school to have emerged as a top performer in the examinations.
Besides Mandal, Sherwood boasts of five other students in the top 20 list of performers in the SSLC exam.
While Sherwood put in a sterling performance, other schools in the Garo hills region lagged far behind.
East Garo Hills recorded a pass percentage of 37.88 per cent, West Garo Hills 32.30 per cent, South Garo Hills 28.66 per cent, South West Garo Hills 20.31 per cent and North Garo Hills 33.60 per cent.
This year, 45,867 students appeared for the SSLC examination, of whom 24,360 passed, resulting in a pass percentage of 53.11.
Sherwood School principal Tyron D'Brass, said: "I believe all credit should be given to the caring parents, the dedicated teachers and the highly motivated students. In Sherwood, we encourage our students to read a lot. We also have the Teach Next System in all our classrooms, which does aid in grasping concepts."
Ricarldy, who hails from a humble background, was tearful when news broke out that he was second in the merit list. The icing on the cake was the fact that before him no one from his school had ever made it to the toppers' list.
"My preparations for the SSLC examinations started from the day I entered Class X. I would study around eight hours a day, but I would always begin studying with a prayer," he told reporters who gathered at the school.
Lauding Ricarldy's efforts, school principal Arshavina Tariang said the topper had displayed his determination right from his younger days.
"He is dedicated, determined and hard-working and was always our best bet when it comes to participating in quiz programmes," Tariang said.
The "quiz wizard" now aims to take the Hippocratic oath to serve the people and his spirit of determination appears to have just gained in strength and stature.
In the HSSLC (arts) examinations, Julian Lamborlem Roy Jyrwa of St Anthony's Higher Secondary School, Shillong, topped the merit list scoring 425 marks.
Additional reporting by Saidul Khan in Tura
