The reviews were conducted by CISCE, New Delhi.

In Uttar Pradesh, 32,173 candidates sat for the exams – 55.23% boys and 44.77% girls.

Girls in the state fared better than boys with a pass percentage of 99.52. Meanwhile, the boys recorded a pass percentage of 99.44. The state’s overall pass percentage was 99.48. The 1,917 Scheduled Caste students who took the exam in the state scored a pass percentage of 99.43, while 132 Scheduled Tribe candidates scored a pass percentage of 96.97.

Among the other backward classes, 8,071 students sat for the exams and recorded a pass rate of 99.37.

Aakash Srivastava, who is among the best in the state capital, said he did not expect to reach the top spot. “I just did my best. For almost six months, I took online classes, which made it difficult. Luckily, my older sister, who is an engineer, helped me study. When offline classes resumed, my teachers helped make up for the loss,” said Aakash, who studies at the Gomti Nagar branch of City Montessori Inter College in Lucknow. His father Anil Kumar Srivastava is an engineering consultant and his mother Manisha Srivastava is a software engineer.

Simran Singh, who is among the best in Lucknow, said she wants to pursue an engineering degree from an IIT and then join the civil service. She studied at the Aliganj branch of the City Montessori Inter College. “My teachers were always available to guide me, both during online and offline lessons, which helped me prepare well,” she added. Her father Sanjai Singh is a bank manager while her mother Abhilasha Singh is a housewife.

Meanwhile, as 18 students across the country tied for first place, it meant they missed a perfect 400/400 by just one point in English and their top three subjects.