PUTRAJAYA: While most people relied on tuition and additional classes to score top marks in public examinations, Ahmad Rahimi Sudin chose the old-fashioned way of reading up before the lesson was taught in class.

This made him not only on par with the teachers but also a much sought-after mentor among his peers.

Ahmad Rahimi, 18, a special needs student who was born with a deformed leg, said he was not a big fan of the Internet either.

The Kuantan Integrated Boarding School (Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi, Kuantan) student relied mostly on classroom notes and group study sessions.

"I worked hard and focused on my favourite subjects like Physics and Additional Mathematics," he said.

This paved the way for him to score 7A+, 2As and 1A- in his examinations.

The seventh of eight children to a policeman and a housewife, Rahimi said he would most likely be pursuing Physics as a subject in university.

Top scorer from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Taman Melawati, Selangor, Amelia Lee Wei Ling, however, chose medicine as her field.

Attributing her 12A+ and consistent academic achievement to her parents, friends and teachers, Lee said she had a lot of help from tuition classes.

"I worked really hard. I also believe God has helped me throughout. I hope to get a scholarship and enrol in a university overseas."

Several schools have already put in place a "buddy system" where students who performed better would help the weaker ones to catch up and improve on their lessons.

Among them is the Gombak Integrated Boarding School (Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi Gombak).