Ludhiana: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class X results declared on Wednesday evening have cemented the city’s reputation as an academic powerhouse, with several students finishing within a fraction of a perfect score.While many across the city surpassed the 99% threshold, two local students missed the 100% milestone by a razor-thin margin of just 0.2%.The 99.8% clubSaksham Mittal of DAV BRS Nagar and Divyansh Jaju of Police DAV Public School emerged as the city’s top performers, both securing a near-perfect 99.8%. Strikingly, both students claimed to have achieved their results through self-study, eschewing the private coaching and tuition centers common in the competitive Indian education system.Saksham Mittal secured full marks (100) in English, Punjabi, Artificial Intelligence, and Social Studies. “I will opt for the non-medical stream in Class XI, as my ultimate goal is to launch my own tech startup,” said Mittal, whose father is a local businessman. Divyansh Jaju: Matched the 99.8% score with perfect marks in Mathematics, Social Studies, Hindi, and IT. Jaju, also choosing the non-medical stream, credited his parents for his “magical” results. “My goal is to clear the JEE and gain selection into an IIT,” he said.Hitansh Sharma of BCM Arya Model Senior Secondary School, who scored 99.6%, said: “I dedicated nine to 10 hours a day to my studies and I give all the credit for my success to my grandparents. While my mother is a teacher and my father an advocate, I plan to forge my own path through the JEE; I have already opted for the non-medical stream in Class XI.”City-wide excellenceThe high-performance trend extended across several major institutes in Ludhiana. Akashi Sharma of Police DAV Public School followed closely with 99.6%, securing perfect scores in Math, Punjabi, and IT. BCM Arya Model Senior Secondary School, Shastri Nagar, also saw a dense cluster of high achievers: Deepan Garg, Hitansh Sharma, and Saanjh Kaur (all 99.6%), Akshom Shukla, Gaurvi, Piya Pathria, Himaksh Arora, and Paavni Gambhir (all 99.4%), and Anhad Kaur, Gursimrat Singh, Ridhima, and Divya Goyal (all 99.2%).The Non-Medical pivotA common thread among the city’s elite scorers is the transition toward engineering and technology. Most top-tier students confirmed they have already enrolled in the non-medical stream for Class XI, targeting the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) for admission into the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).Other notable performers included Agrima Sharma (Police DAV) and Ishaandeep Kaur Sahota (Green Grove Public), who both secured 99.4%. Satkaran Singh, Divyam Kalia (DAV Public Pakhowal Road), and Mannat (DCM Presidency School) rounded out the top bracket with 99.2%.
