Of the 15 students at the Government Higher Secondary School for the Blind in Poonamallee who wrote the class X board exams this year, all passed, with two of them making it to the second and third revenue district ranks for Tiruvallur district. “For the last 26 years, we have had centum pass marks in the 10{+t}{+h}standard exams,” said V. Gopal, principal of the school.

While R. Gopi, who scored 427, is a chess champion, C. Suresh participates in running and long jump competitions, he said.

Students with disabilities in the city seem to have performed very well this year, with several schools reporting ‘centum passes’. At the Dr. MGR Home and Higher Secondary School for the Speech and Hearing Impaired, 10 students wrote the exams and all passed, with three making it to the revenue district ranks for Kancheepuram district. One of them, M. Akashkumar, a cricket lover, who scored 334 out of 400 wants to become a chartered accountant, said school staff. The Clarke School for the Deaf too, had six students writing the exam and all passing.

Language, however, was somewhat difficult for some students with hearing impairments, a few heads of school said. The St. Louis Institute for Deaf and Blind saw all 14 of its visually impaired students passing with 453 the highest score, but one of the 19 hearing impaired students failed. “It was just one paper – Tamil II that the student found a little difficult due to the grammar,” said principal, Br. John Xavier. Fourteen of the seventeen students at the CSI School for Deaf passed, said principal, James Albert.

Eighteen-year-old S. Bhakia Lakshmi emerged the topper in Tamil medium with a score of 343 out of 400 at the Little Flower Convent School for the Deaf. “ I want to pursue Business Maths in higher secondary and go to on specialise in a branch of Maths. I can take up any job after my education; my only concern is to support my mother as soon as possible,” she says. Riya Mariam Eldo topped the school in English medium with a total of 350. A total of 25 students had written the exams and 22 passed. Seventeen students appeared and all passed the examinations at the Little Flower Convent School for the Blind. D. Subalakshmi topped in the Tamil medium with a score of 437 and P. Mahalakshmi in the English medium with a total of 456.

All three Tiruvallur revenue district rank holders for hearing impaired were from Ajay Higher Secondary School for the Deaf, with the top mark being 317/400. Two of 8 students who wrote at the Mary Clubwala Jadhav Special High School were the first and third revenue district rank holders for Chennai.