A gifted brother and sister who see maths as a “game” are among the youngest to take GCSEs this year.
Eight-year-old Samuel Brant and nine-year-old Laurelle both took the maths exam after having lessons with a charity that specialises in helping inner-city children reach their potential.
Laurelle was awarded an A and Samuel gained a D, narrowly missing a C grade, after spending weekends at the Excellence in Education centre in Stratford.
They pair, from Loughton in Essex, were inspired to take the exam early after hearing about other children who passed exams at an early age through the centre.
Chris Imafidon, who helps run the Excellence in Education programme, said Samuel and Laurelle both saw maths as a game and enjoyed the learning process.
He said: “The most fundamental thing in terms of achievement is not to refer to failing. We talk about winning and losing because it is a game.”
The siblings attend a state school and studied for the GCSE at the weekend and online. Their mother Vinessa said: “For my children, maths is not a horrible thing like it is for some people. It is fun for them. When they were doing their exams I was petrified seeing them with all the teenagers, but they just trundled in.
“When they had finished, they asked to do more. We will just run with this. We are not interested in being pushy, we just want to develop their natural skill.”
