Top
of the batch
They are the super-achievers who came in first in the island at
the G.C.E. Advanced Level Exams. As most people will tell you, it
takes a lot of hard work, dedication and total commitment to be
No. 1, not to mention brilliant brains!
Dilushi Wijayaratne
of St. Bridget’s Convent, Colombo 7 topped the biological
science stream for the year with an outstanding Z - score of 3.5447,
and now plans to do medicine at university. Being ranked 2nd in
the island at the G.C.E. ordinary level exams and a consistent performer
in the academic department throughout her school career, Dilushi
took to biological science like a duck taking to water, although
her favourite subject until then had been mathematics. It’s
not surprising then, that she liked physics best during her A/level
years. Explaining her choice of bio-science, she says, “If
I didn’t opt for medicine, I would have chosen a career in
that field.”
Apart from
her academic excellence, Dilushi was also the vice-president of
her school Scrabble club and has won awards at tournaments as well.
She was also a member of the school Western Band and tennis team,
in addition to being Deputy Head Prefect at St. Bridget’s.
So what was her magical formula for success? Dilushi is a consistent
worker, with impeccable focus on what she wants to achieve. “The
teachers in school were very encouraging and dedicated,” she
says, adding however, that as is the case with a competitive exam,
extra help was necessary.
Dulip Bandara
Piyaratne of Maliyadeva College, Kurunegala, agrees. “You
have to work consistently,” he says, “as the exams are
so competitive, you need that little extra work and extra reading.”
Adding that one must remember to take things easy, and not get bogged
down by work alone, he said it was important to plan, and focus
on what you wanted for yourself. Having topped the batch in Physical
science, he now plans to study engineering, with the possibility
of computer science and electronics on the sidelines. “ I
was always interested in math problems,” he says, so his choice
of subjects was certainly obvious. Naturally inclined towards the
sciences, he was also the President of his school Science Society,
and a member of the Computer Society.
Asked if students
from Colombo schools had an advantage over their counterparts from
outstation schools, he says that although the difference wasn’t
massive in comparison to his school, it was probably a different
case with schools in more rural areas. “At my school, we can
always do a bit of extra reading at the library,” he says,
adding that some rural areas did not even have adequately-equipped
laboratories for experiments.
Mahesha Jayawardane
of Visakha Vidyalaya took to arts, more or less by the ‘elimination
of choices’. “I didn’t really like maths, and
science was definitely not my thing, so it boiled down to a choice
between commerce and arts,” she says. Her choice has certainly
not let her down. Being ranked number 1 all island in the arts stream,
Mahesha says that she loves English, and was also involved in a
lot of extra-curricular activities in school, adding, “I had
more enthusiasm for things than I could afford to devote the time
for.” She was active in the English Literary Society and Broadcasting
Unit of her school, and has also played badminton and taken part
in athletics.
Having sat
for Law Entrance exams in September, Mahesha also hopes to pursue
a degree in Arts at the university, reading either journalism or
English. “I don’t have a goal as such,” she says,
“ I take things as they come.” She believes it’s
important to be organized from the very beginning, or else, “it
becomes kind of difficult to pick it up towards the end.”
At the end
of the day, all of them agree that organized work was definitely
a key to doing well. “I didn’t stay up till very late
at night,” says Dilushi, and Dulip echoes the sentiment. Mahesha,
however, had a different time-table, but the bottom line, she stresses,
“is that you plan something you are comfortable with and stick
to it.”
All these super-achievers,
however, stress that studying alone was not everything. None of
them went into their exams with the goal of coming out on top, but
instead wanted ‘to do their very best’. Asked whether
they had to curtail their activities in order to achieve these results,
they all say that they lived pretty ‘ordinary’ lives
that weren’t too stressful! “You have to hang out with
friends, and take things easy,” grins Dulip, “you have
to continue enjoying life.”
Jayodh Dantanarayana
of Ananda College, Colombo who topped the batch in the Commerce
stream was not available for comment. -AC
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