Calm, cool and collected — that's how we would describe Kavya Pothapragada and Suhas Kellampalli, students of Manthan International School in Hyderabad. And that's how they remained when they attempted their class XI exams too. And as you can expect, they sailed through them - while Kavya topped in the world in Cambridge IGCSE in Mathematics, Suhas topped in the country in Cambridge International AS Level in Biology. But behind this feat is relentless practice, solving several practices and past question papers and, of course, unadulterated love for the subject. All this and more was discovered by this writer when she spoke to these toppers.
Focus on the flaws
Math topper Kavya Pothapragada had a simple strategy that she followed to the T — pay attention in class to understand concepts thoroughly and identify problems and work on them at home. "I was weak in Trigonometry but my wonderful teachers and supportive parents and friends helped me out. Solving question papers came in handy too," says the 16-year-old who attempted 80 practice question papers in the span of a year. "I feel like anyone can top a Math exam, it's just that a lot of people waste time being scared of it. I just went head on, plus, I really like the subject," says Kavya who also enjoys arts and crafts and baking. Her preparedness even helped her finish the paper well within the time limit, giving her the chance to go over it again. Kavya, who was brought up in the Middle East but returned to her hometown of Hyderabad four years ago, wants to pursue Computer Science in the future, become an animator and ultimately, join Pixar.
Acing it and how
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The student who aced Biology, Suhas Kellampalli, has forever been fascinated with the intricacies of the human body. So it was only natural for him to take a shine to Biology. "I would like to get into medicine. I am also interested in Research Molecular Biology and Microbiology, but my ultimate aim is Medicine," says the 17-year-old. Speaking about the day that he wrote the exam, he says, "Don't ask me why but I believe that luck was on my side that day." What helped him where worksheets provided and corrected by his teachers, "Even though I have horrible handwriting," laughs Suhas who was born in Virginia, USA, but moved to Hyderabad when he was nine years old. Suhas enjoys playing sports, particularly basketball, and likes watching movies or reading during his free time.
What you don't know about them:
- Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards are issued by Cambridge Assessment International Education
- Cambridge Assessment International Education is one of the largest providers of international education programmes
- Over 10,000 schools in 160+ countries belong to the Cambridge community
- They have been conducting international exams for more than 160 years
