Know the Latin name for apricot? Britain’s brainiest 12-year-old does!
HE can spell words that most adults have never even heard of, and has a higher IQ than either Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking.
And last night 12-year- old Rahul showed why he might just be the brainiest child in Britain. For, in a display of intellect far beyond his years, the schoolboy from Barnet, North London, scored 100 per cent in the opening round of Child Genius.
Setting the bar exceptionally high in the Channel 4 contest which featured 20 contestants aged eight to 12, Rahul – whose family name was not revealed – was unfazed as he was asked to spell words such as garrulous, algorithm, accouchement (the act of giving birth) and hyponatraemia (low sodium levels in the blood).
He then scored 14 out of 14 in a fiendish memory test, which required the young brainboxes to learn 240 pieces of information about 60 fruit and vegetables. While his rivals faltered, he wowed the studio audience, the panel of adjudicators and TV viewers alike as he correctly answered questions such as ‘What is Phoenix dactylifera?’ and ‘What is the scientific name for apricot?’
Quizmaster Richard Osman was briefly speechless, before saying: ‘I like your style Rahul. Brilliantly done.’
Although viewers were instantly in awe of Rahul’s intelligence, they might have been less impressed with his pushy IT manager father, Minesh.
The cameras repeatedly panned to the audience, where Minesh could be seen tightly crossing his fingers, fist-pumping the air and whispering ‘Come on’ to his wife, Komal, a pharmacist.
Speaking from their family home, Minesh explained: ‘We are here to win, there are no two ways about that.’ Commenting on his son achieving a best IQ score of 162 – higher than the 160 Einstein and Hawking achieved and making him eligible by some margin to join Mensa – he said: ‘As a comparable, Rahul is as clever as Einstein or Stephen Hawking’.
His IQ score easily places him in the top 2 per cent of the population, the qualifying mark for Mensa, which has only 1,500 under18s among its 20,000 members.
Rahul, who wore a suit, white shirt with raspberry collar and matching tie, told the cameras: ‘Yes, I think I am a genius. I am good at maths, general knowledge and I find it quite easy to memorise stuff compared to my peers. Most kids want immediate gratification but I also want long-term gratification. If I could play maybe my Xbox now I would be really happy now but then I might be sad later on because I haven’t revised for my test.’
Despite finishing the first round well ahead of the other children, Rahul confessed that he was a ‘bit gutted’ after running out of time for his final memory question.
Last night’s show also featured a ten-year-old girl who is nicknamed Carol Vorderman by her peers and a brother and sister who were entered by their mother.
Child Genius continues on Channel 4 at 8pm every evening this week, with the final on Saturday.
‘He is as clever as Einstein’