Though there was little difference in the aggregates of the State toppers and the city toppers, none of the top 10 Vadodara students have the pleasure of seeing their names alongside those of Saurabh Mehta or Setukuama Patolia, the Surat and Ahmedabad students who walked away with the honours.While the aggregate of the tenth rank-holder was 91.96 per cent, Disha Shah of Alembic, the city's first girl, scored 90.76 per cent.

Harshad Patel, principal of Alembic Vidyalay, which has four students among the city top 10, however, is proud of the fact that ``Our students are still the best so far as science subject aggregates are concerned.''

However, Patel admitted that the languages were not a priority with most city science students. ``Students who prepare for the medical or engineering entrances simultaneously with the boards emphasise on the science subjects. The neglect of the language papers reflects in their overall aggregate.''

Patel added that though the Gujarat Secondary Education Board had instructed schools to conduct only two examinations, Alembic conducted a post-preliminary examination as well. ``This is probably the reason why there were so many toppers from this school alone'', he said to explain why Alembic dominated the city merit list. Revati Shanker, administrator of Tejas Vidyalay, however, admitted she had been disappointed by the absence of Vadodara from the State list, adding that she had also expected more Tejas students in the city list . Rosary School teachers, too, maintained that their students could top not only the city but also the state.