“You won’t find any of my friends relaxing today; it’s time for some last-minute revision,” he says. For Class XII, Chemistry is the big examination coming up on Saturday, and Kaul is busy pouring through his notes. “I am focusing on formulae and reactions; they are very important.

“I did a sample paper yesterday, and I’m going to do another one this evening.”

In another part of the Capital, Aditya Gupta of Delhi Public School, Vasant Kunj, has just woken up. It’s 4 pm. “I always get plenty of sleep during exams — no point burning out,” he says. Gupta plans to spend what’s left of the day flicking through notes. But there will be no all-night cramming: “Studying something new at this stage is just foolish.”

While students are expressing some nerves and anxiety, having started preparations for the Boards several months ago, many are also breathing a sigh of relief.

Manvir Singh, a Class XII student at Bluebells School, says: “I just want to begin now. The quicker they start, the quicker they are over!” Completely “tension-free”, Singh says: “I have done all the sample papers; I am just answering some conceptual questions that relate to chapters in the textbook.” Post-Saturday’s paper, he’s planning on grabbing a coffee with some friends. “My next paper is on March 7, so I’ll relax for a short while tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, exam-time helplines have been inundated with calls the past two days, mainly from Class XII Chemistry candidates. “Someone is worried about organic chemistry, others anxious that poor performance will thwart their ambitions to become doctors or engineers,” says Abdul Mabood, director of Snehi, which runs the helpline Disha.

Class X examinations in Business, Typewriting, Information Technology and Accountancy are also scheduled for Saturday, but most students, not sitting these subjects, begin their papers on Monday. Even Snehi hasn’t been receiving calls from Class X candidates worried about Saturday; instead, students are anxious about Monday’s Social Studies paper.

“Some have left revision for Social Studies till the last moment and are now panicking,” Mabood says. “But we tell them they will do better than they expect, to go and do their best.”