Brainy duo make the grade

Published 5 Sep 2008 12:00 0 Comments

AS hundreds of 16-year-olds start A-level courses this week, it will be back to primary school for twins who became the youngest pupils to pass advanced-level maths exams.

Seven-year-olds Peter and Paula Imafidon achieved a D grade in the AS-level qualification, alongside their usual studies at Calcot Junior School.

They are the youngest twins ever to display identical prodigious talent for mathematical puzzles and quizzes - the former record holders were 17.

Paula and Peter are not the only prodigies in the Imafidon family, as sister Samantha broke a world record last year by passing University of Cambridge advanced mathematics exams aged nine.

Another sister, 16-year-old Christiana, is expected to confirm offers to start a Masters degree in mathematics at a leading British university later this year, while eldest sister Anne-Marie is also a record holder as the youngest girl ever to pass A-level computing at only 11.

Father Chris says the twins' interest in maths started at the ago of three, kindled by the number games played by their arithmetically-minded sisters, and that the pair learn by treating it as a game.

Chris, who passed his maths O-level in 1979 with a grade A, said: "They don't think in terms of failure, it's just winning or losing a game and they keep playing each other and competing. There's no pressure that they have to perform.

"After their exam, we sat in McDonald's. Their certificates don't mean anything to them.

"They just love playing games."

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This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 04 Sep 08

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