The Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) is scripting a success story. With more and more CBSE schools coming up in Calcutta, the results are on a roll.

The Class XII results were announced on Friday and they did nothing to dent the rising demand for CBSE schools among parents and students.

Compared to previous years, the highest scores and overall performances improved in the 20-odd leading CBSE schools in Calcutta. Apart from city schools, there are around 80 CBSE institutions in the state, including 51 Kendriya Vidyalayas. At least 13 new city schools are waiting to get CBSE affiliation.

“Given the rising demand for seats we have upgraded almost all of our 18 institutions in Calcutta and doubled their capacities,” said V.K. Srivastav, assistant commissioner of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sanghathan, managing the chain of Kendriya Vidyalayas.

“More and more parents are now wanting to put their children into CBSE schools. The CBSE curriculum is more geared towards competitive examinations,” said Mukta Nain, principal of Birla High School. Of the 198 students appearing for the exams from Birla High, all but one scored first division marks.

Nationwide, a record 8,120 students out of five lakh examinees scored above 90 per cent marks — a stunning 60 per cent rise over last year.

“We’ve seen an unprecedented performance this year. It shows that our efforts to provide a comfortable ambience to the students have been fruitful,” said CBSE chairman Ashok Ganguly.

City schools also attributed the results to the trend of Class X toppers from other boards like Madhyamik and even ICSE switching to CBSE schools in Class XI.

The pass percentage was highest in the Chennai area, at 91 per cent. The success rate in Calcutta schools was a shade below that, but that of the Allahabad region — in which the city schools are clubbed — was 76 per cent.

Girls fared better than boys yet again — 85 per cent versus 77 per cent being the success rate on the gender scale.

Two students in Chennai shared the top spot among five lakh candidates appearing for the CBSE exams.

“Students from Chennai and Mumbai score more marks because they can opt for high-scoring subjects like Sanskrit and Physical Education. Most CBSE schools in Calcutta do not offer such subjects as they are not counted at the time of college admissions,” said a principal.

On Friday, however, the dominant mood was one of jubilation. “It is a great sign that the number of students scoring between 80 and 90 per cent marks has risen this time,” said Rita Chatterjee, principal, Apeejay School.

“Our school topper is Kushal Agarwal with 95.6 per cent, nearly one per cent more than the topper last year. This is an encouraging trend,” said Anjali Razdan, principal of Lakshmipat Singhania Academy.