Scholar took exam, securing first place (6)
I believe the answer is:
savant
'scholar' is the definition.
(savant is a kind of scholar)
'took exam securing first place' is the wordplay.
'took exam' becomes 'sat' (I've seen this before).
'securing' indicates putting letters inside.
'first place' becomes 'van' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'sat' going around 'van' is 'SAVANT'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for savant that I've seen before include "A learned or wise person from France" , "Wise fellow" , "He displays erudition" , "Wise man" , "Intellectual" .)