With 25% vision and one-room home, ICSE achievers shine against all odds
Telegraph | 4 May 2026
Circumstances may have tried to hold them back, but determination proved stronger for two ICSE achievers whose results reflect years of effort.
Among the many toppers this year, Metro spoke to two students whose marks are a testament to their persistence in the face of adversity.
Ayushi Ghosh, 89.8%
Julien Day School, Howrah
Most students are advised to revise their answers after finishing the paper, but that is not an option for Ayushi. Her handwriting often becomes too small for her to read clearly.
At times, she has to hold her exercise book just 6cm from her eyes to decipher what she has written. When that becomes too difficult, her parents step in to help.
Ayushi has cone-rod dystrophy, a genetic condition that has severely affected her vision. “The ophthalmologist at LV Prasad Eye Institute in Hyderabad told us she has had 75% vision loss,” said her mother, Samarpita Ghosh.
There have been long hours when Samarpita has sat beside her, reading out lessons while the 16-year-old listened, understood and memorised.
The effort has yielded strong results. In the ICSE, Ayushi scored 93 in maths and Bengali, 92 in English, 80 in history-geography, and 91 in computer applications.
She was given a reader and extra time by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations during her boards.
“I cannot usually revise what I have written because it becomes too small for my vision. In class, too, I could not read from the blackboard and had to rely on dictation to take notes. But my school and principal have been extremely supportive, otherwise it would have been difficult for me to reach this far,” she said.
Sk Inayat, 93.4%
Sri Sri Academy
For Inayat, silence was a luxury he found late at night. Living in a one-room house in Chetla with his parents and younger sister, he often had no choice but to study in a corner while the rest of the world slept.
“I would sit with my books after midnight and continue till early morning. The days were difficult to study because the neighbourhood was noisy,” he said.
Much of the disturbance came from daily life in a congested locality — people using the common washroom, fetching water from a civic tap and general chaos. “Mornings are usually very chaotic,” said his mother, Momina Bibi.
Inayat scored 90 in English in the ICSE, 99 in environmental science, 100 in physical education, 94 in commercial studies and 84 in Bengali.
His mother studied till Class X, while his father studied till Class VIII. “My husband had to shoulder responsibilities at home, and I was married off,” said Momina.
Inayat is on a scholarship at Sri Sri Academy. The school covers his fees, books and uniform. “It is a godsend opportunity for us. Otherwise, we would not have been able to send him to a school that caters to his overall development,” said Momina.