One of the most impressive girls I went to school with was kinda intimidating in her ferocious intelligence and confidence, but if I didn't dare to approach her, it was simply because it was painfully obvious she was out of my league, not because I didn't like her. She never sucked up, not to teachers and not to peers, she never failed to say what she thought, she played the piano and the violin and aced every single test anyone handed to her. And one time she passed some sweets on to me during class, and then laughed her ass off, because she had them in the mouth before wrapping them up again. If I utterly adored one girl in that time, it was her; so much I never dared to even fall in love with her.

In contrast, I never considered "neat and docile" pupils smart, just lame.

That wasn't even my two cents, just shamelessly indulging in nostalgia haha.