Siliguri: North Bengal districts shone in the Higher Secondary (HS) examination this year with 10 students making it to the merit list. Avik Das of Alipurduar clinched the top spot in the West Bengal Higher Secondary Examination 2024 with an impressive score of 496 out of 500. Abhishek Gupta of Malda secured the third position in the state with an impressive score of 494.
Avik, a student of McWilliam High School in Alipurduar, resides with his parents, Shyamali Das, a homemaker and Prabir Kumar Das, a teacher at Railway HS School in Ward 5 of Alipurduar town. Avik’s exceptional performance showcased his prowess in various subjects, scoring 99 in Bengali, 99 in English, 100 in Mathematics, 99 in Physics, 99 in Chemistry, and 99 in Biology.
Expressing his elation, Avik stated: “I am pleased with my performance, though I hadn’t anticipated topping the examination. I owe my success to my parents, teachers and tutors who supported me throughout. I followed a concept-based learning approach rather than memorisation, often reading from various sources in each subject. While I didn’t have a fixed study routine, I devoted 8-10 hours a day to studying. Besides academics, I enjoy watching sports, with Virat Kohli being my favorite athlete. In the future, I aspire to pursue a career in the field of Astrophysics and become a researcher.” Avik’s father, Prabir Kumar Das, stated: “He always aimed high and today’s accomplishment is a testament to his determination.” The Das household was a beehive of activity with news of Avik, topping the examinations. Friends, relatives, neighbours and well wishers dropped by to congratulate Avik. Abhishek Gupta, a student of Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Vidya Mandir, scored 494 marks, ranking third in the state. He stood 4th in the Madhyamik examination in 2022.
“My exams went well and given my performance in the Madhyamik exams, I had hoped to be in the top 10. My aim is to become an engineer and I am working towards it. Apart from studying 7-8 hours a day, I enjoy reading storybooks and watching sports.”
Abhishek’s father, Shibashanta Gupta, works in a private company, and his mother, Anamika Gupta, is a government primary school teacher. “He studied under our supervision till class 8, but after that, we had to rely on other teachers, who greatly helped and inspired him. I am very happy with his result,” said Anamika Gupta. Pratichi Roy Talukder, a student of Suniti Academy, Cooch Behar, secured fourth position in the state with 493 marks. A resident of Ward 18 of Cooch Behar town, Pratichi wants to study medicine in the future.
Suptotthita Sarkar, a student of Bulbulchandi Girija Sundari Vidyalaya in Malda, secured the fourth rank with 492 marks. Arnab Karmakar of Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Vidya Mandir, Malda, ranked 5th in the state with an impressive score of 492. Manoswee Chanda from Sunity Academy of Cooch Behar ranked 6th with 491 marks. Ankita Sarkar from Raiganj Coronation High School of North Dinajpur ranked 7th with 490 marks. Anwesha Dutta of Alipurduar Girls High School, Alipurduar ranked 9th with 488 marks. Pritambar Barman of Tarangapur NK High School in North Dinajpur ranked 9th with 488 marks.
Ankita Ghosh of Cooch Behar Uchcha Balika Vidyalaya ranked 10th with 487 marks.