These four Toronto students all earned a 100 per cent average. Here is how they did it

A group of high-school students spoke after being recognized by the TDSB for their outstanding academic achievements.

Four Grade 12 students have been recognized by the Toronto District School Board as “top scholars” after achieving 100 per cent averages across their top six courses.

Speaking at a ceremony held Tuesday, the students—three from Bloor Collegiate Institute in downtown Toronto and one from Cedarbrae Collegiate Institute in Scarborough—all shared how they felt about their achievement and what it took to get there.

“I think if you like what you’re learning and you’re interested in it, it’ll happen naturally,” said Cedarbrae Collegiate student Safiya Vohra-Bangi. “You’ll be good at it if you like it and you put in the hard work.”

Despite her impressive average, Vohra-Bangi said the achievement doesn’t matter that much because high school shouldn’t only be about studying.

“I think a lot of my friends, they also work really hard. And then my other friends, they help me balance school and also sports and having fun. So, I think everyone around you valuing a lot of different things is what helps you become an interesting person, and not just someone who wants to study all the time. I think that’s what’s more important,” she said.

Vohra-Bangi wasn’t the only one who downplayed her accomplishment.

Bloor Collegiate graduate Sheena Qin echoed a similar sentiment during Tuesday’s ceremony.

“I’m just pleased with how I did,” Qin said. “I don’t really think too much about it.”

Qin said the most important thing for her in high school was prioritizing her mental health and making sure she was doing things outside of schoolwork.

“That’s always important, because without (prioritizing) mental health it’s like, ‘Oh, what are you doing?’ You’re getting good grades, but will you feel happy at the end?”

For Bloor Collegiate student Andrew Peng—who self-identifies as a nerd—his strategy for achieving top marks was what he called turning ‘due’ dates into ‘do’ dates.

“I found that I focus best when I actually need to do something,” said Peng. “I found that the high school course load was not too difficult. Many times, instead of doing my biology assignment, I just started coding something, because that’s one of my interests.”

“So, what I do instead is to just do (homework) when I need to do it... sometimes I hold off until the last day, because then I can actually find the internal motivation to complete the task. It’s like glorified procrastination (because) I procrastinate on my interests instead of useless things.”

When asked if he had any advice for future high school students, Peng said his main suggestion is to avoid striving for perfection.

“The key thing is just try your best, because if you are shooting for 100, it’s not always an attainable goal. If you can’t reach the goal, you won’t be very happy with yourself and maybe you’ll lose some motivation, but if you just try your best, then regardless of what the outcome is, you’ll be happy with yourself,” he said.

Fellow Bloor Collegiate student Sowmya Ramanan said her advice is to focus on extracurriculars to avoid any possible regrets during the high school journey.

“My advice would be to have a good balance between school and extracurriculars... just having fun in general,” said Ramanan. “Of course, push yourself and try to challenge yourself, but also keep in mind that high school should be something that you can look back upon and not have too many regrets.”

Ramanan said her extracurriculars helped her meet new people and provided a much-needed break from schoolwork.

“One of the main extracurriculars that I think helped do this was volunteering at Michael Garron Hospital, because I got to meet with a whole bunch of people outside of school studying. It was pretty much nothing to do with school, and it was a really good break.”

Vohra-Bangi, Qin, and Peng are all heading to the University of Toronto to continue their studies in September, while Ramanan will be attending the University of Waterloo.