UK schoolboy gets highest possible IQ score - beating Einstein and Hawking

Leeds schoolboy says he wants to study maths at Oxbridge

A Leeds schoolboy said he feels “special” after beating geniuses Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking in an IQ test.

Yusuf Shah, 11, said he hopes to study maths at Oxford or Cambridge after getting 162 in the Mensa test.

Professor Hawking, the theoretical physicist known for his work on black holes, is said to have had an IQ of 160.

Professor Einstein, also a theoretical physicist, is said to have had an IQ of around 160, although it is unclear whether either man did a test.

Yusuf, from Leeds, said his friends at school are always telling him he is very smart - and he wanted to test himself by taking the IQ quiz.

He celebrated the achievement with a meal at Nando’s with his parents and brothers.

Yusuf said: “Everyone at school thinks I am very smart and I have always wanted to know if I was in the top two per cent of the people who take the test.

"It feels special to have a certificate for me and about me.”

Year Six student Yusuf hopes to study mathematics at Cambridge or Oxford and said he loves doing anything that stimulates his brain.

When he is not studying, the maths whiz enjoys sudokus and solving Rubik’s cubes.

He started playing with Rubik’s cubes in January after he saw one at his friend’s house and by the end of the month, was able to solve cubes of all difficulties with ease.

His delighted mum Sana said: “I was so proud. He is the first person to take the Mensa test in the family. I was actually a little concerned too – he has always gone into a hall full of kids to take tests.

She added: “We thought he might be intimidated by the adults at the centre. But he did brilliantly. I still tell him that, ‘Your dad is still smarter than you’.

“We take it all lightheartedly. Even if you are talented, you have to be the hardest worker.”

Dad Irfan added: “It is a difficult test to prepare for. We just did what we were already doing – nothing specific for the IQ test.”

Younger brother Khalid, aged eight, is also hoping to take the Mensa test when he’s older.

Additional reporting by SWNS.