Ranchi: Bhavya Ranjan of Oxford Public School, Ranchi, emerged as a national topper in the humanities stream after scoring 499 out of 500 marks in CBSE Class XII examination, whose results were declared on Wednesday. Bhavya, who missed the perfect score by just one mark in economics, said the result still feels “surreal”.“I was expecting good marks but never imagined scoring this high at the national level. I was uncertain during exams like every student, but I kept focusing on giving my 100% instead of overthinking about results,” she told TOI.Daughter of Rajiv Ranjan, a businessman, and Biki Gandhi, a primary teacher at her school, Bhavya has planned to pursue civil services. After scoring 96.8% in Class X, she chose humanities to align her preparation with the UPSC Civil Services Examination. Her favourite subjects are history and political science. “I am currently preparing for the entrance examinations in Delhi University,” she said.Bhavya said consistency mattered more than long study hours during her exam preparations. “Memorising up information is never the solution. Understanding concepts and staying disciplined throughout the year makes a real difference. Even when discouraging thoughts came to my mind, I tried not to lose focus,” she said.She also maintained strict control over social media use. “I used app timers on my phone. During exams, I limited social media to around 15 minutes a day. During preparations, I kept it to a maximum of 30 minutes,” she added.Her mother said Bhavya remained self-motivated throughout her academic journey. “We never forced her into any stream or career choice. She was very clear about her goals from the beginning and maintained discipline consistently,” she said.School principal Ranjeet Thakur said Bhavya’s achievement reflected both individual dedication and the school’s academic support. “She has been a sincere and focused student. The school always encourages analytical learning and conceptual clarity instead of rote learning,” he said.
