An 11-year-old boy achieved the highest grade possible in GCSE maths – despite taking it 11 years early.
Harry Thew, described his performance as “quite good” after taking the exam in Year 6 at Bede Academy in Blyth, Northumberland.
He lost only two marks on one paper and five on the second, achieving a grade 9.
Harry said: “It’s quite good. I thought I would get an 8 or 9 because I did in the mocks. Some of the questions were easy, some were harder and some were in the middle.”
The schoolboy competes at a national level, plays piano and has reached grade 5 on trumpet.
His mother Elizabeth, a primary school teacher in Blyth, said: “Maths is just something he likes. He has a very high IQ and he’s always loved puzzles, numbers and logic.
“We gave him a Sat paper in Year 2 and he passed it, so they gave him another at school to check and he passed that as well.”
Mrs Thew, said she and husband Steve were just “average” at maths, adding: “Definitely not as good as Harry.”
She said: “Once we all realised how good he was, school went with the idea of him doing his GCSE.
“It wasn’t because we wanted him to do it, it was Harry who wanted to do it. When he was asked why, he said ‘why not?’.”
The boy genius took his exam on the same day as Year 11 pupils, but on his own with an invigilator.
Mrs Thew added: “He was pretty confident, quietly laid back, which is how he is. He was a bit worried beforehand but doing practice papers helped him realise he could do it.”
He will be joining Bede Secondary in Year 7, with Mrs Thew adding that the school’s head of maths Mrs Hindhaugh has been “fantastic” in her support.
Harry added: “I’d like to continue with it but I have no idea what I want to do when I’m older.”
Bede Academy principal Andrew Thelwell said: “Harry has always worked extremely hard in every subject and is an exceptionally talented young man who has done superbly well in his maths GCSE.”
