CHENNAI: The only way to uplift his family from an economic hell-hole was to focus on his education and score well in Class 12 board exam; and, that’s what Santhosh K did. He secured 564 marks out of the total of 600.

Hailing from New Washermenpet in north Chennai, and his father is the sole breadwinner of the family. He works at a local grocery store.

A student of PAK Palanisamy Higher Secondary School, a government-aided institution, Washermenpet, Santhosh has secured a centum in Mathematics and Physics, 99 in Tamil, 98 in English, 99 in Chemistry and 98 in Biology. “Every time I thought about my family, I studied hard. I even sacrificed extra-curricular activities to score these marks,” he said.

Crediting his teachers for his achievement, he added: “I was able to get proper guidance from all the teachers in my school. They also encouraged me and brought out the talent in me. I was able to get a centum in mathematics and physics because I revised the formulas in those subjects regularly.”

Santhosh wants to pursue a career in engineering. “I’ll be applying for Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE) to get admission in Anna University,” he said.