Chennai, May 21 (IANS) An elated Swati Pursty - one of the two toppers of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class 12 exams - Friday said that it was because of her consistent hard work and dedication that she was able to perform so well in her exams.

Pursty, a student of science, scored a whopping 490 out of 500 marks in the exam. Her aggregate score was 98 percent.

'I will credit my results to the dedication and sheer hard work that I have been putting in in my studies. It's also because of the blessings and good wishes of my parents and others,' said Pursty, who is a student at DAV Girls Senior Secondary School in Chennai.

Talking about her preparations, Pursty said that she took the help of CBSE sample question papers to familiarise herself with the pattern of questions.

'I went through sample question papers while preparing for my exams. Through this, I got to know the question pattern and how they are framed. It also gave me an idea about the marking system. I worked along those lines and it helped me get a good score,' she said.

Pursty's father added: 'The only help that I offered was not to interfere in her studies. I have never told her to go and study - in fact, at times I told her to take a break and sleep'.

Besides Pursty, R. Garima, another student of the same school and the same course, also topped the CBSE Class 12 exams. She too scored 98 percent.