Pranshu Patel’s grandfather had a saying: “God gave us a brain, so why waste it? Why not use it for the world?”
Pranshu, 18, took it to heart and worked hard to achieve a score of 42 in his International Baccalaureate results released on Monday, the equivalent of a VCE ATAR score of 99.1.
The Werribee Secondary College student now hopes to study medicine or dentistry at university.
His grandfather, Suresh Patel, to whom he was very close, died of COVID-19 in India in April last year.
Pranshu was touched when his grandmother Jyotshna reassured him on the phone from India on Monday that his grandfather “would have been really proud of you”.
“Deep down, I know he’s watching,” Pranshu said.
Werribee Secondary College deputy principal Helene Refuerzo said the school was very proud of its 27 students who undertook the IB diploma. Two students gained a score of 42, while nine achieved 33 or above.
