Nine-year-old becomes youngest ever to pass A-level maths with Grade A

Zohaib Ahmed: Zohaib has beaten the record held by Hong Kong maths prodigy March Boedihardjo who was nine years and three months old when he sat exams to get an A-grade in maths Photo: SOLENT

Zohaib Ahmed grabbed top marks in Mathematics despite sitting his exams an incredible nine years early.

Zohaib, who goes to primary school, was still only eight when he took the first of his A-level papers in January.

He scored 90 per cent across all six modules to land his A-grade.

Now he plans to take A-level further maths, doing three modules in the summer and then three in January. He aims to head off to university by the time he is 14.

Last August Zohaib scooped an A* (A star) in his GCSE maths at the age of just eight.

Zohaib's 11-year-old brother Wajih is also celebrating getting an A-grade at A-level further maths with a 96 per cent pass.

Last summer he had achieved a top grade A in his maths A-level while aged 10.

The brothers share the same ambition of working in the city as an actuary in the finance sector.

The two boys, from Chandler's Ford, near Southampton, Hants, are please with their results.

Zohaib said: "I'm really, really happy about my result and breaking the record.

"I was slightly nervous when I did the exams but afterwards I knew I had got an 'A' because I had got As in past papers.

"Maths is my favourite subject but I also like English, Science and PE.

"I like playing football and I'm a Liverpool fan. But getting an A-grade in Maths was even better than Liverpool beating Real Madrid.

"I look up to my brother and he used to help me with bits but I don't really need much help now."

Despite attending Knightwood Primary School in Chandler's Ford, the brothers did their A-levels at Farnborough Sixth Form College, Hants.

Their father Dr Usman Ahmed, 43, who works for the Ministry of Defence in Farnborough, said he spotted his sons' potential when they were five.

He quickly arranged with their school for them both to take their own maths work to do in class.

He said: "We spotted that they both had talent five or six years ago and started giving them extra work.

"It has been hard for them both but we are so very, very proud of both boys, especially as Zohaib is now the youngest ever to get an A-grade at A-level.

"They have worked very hard by doing several hours of maths every day after school but they are very friendly and sporty boys as well who love football - it's not just maths in their lives."

Zohaib has beaten the record held by Hong Kong maths prodigy March Boedihardjo who was nine years and three months old when he sat exams to get an A-grade in maths in 2007.

March moved to Britain from his native Hong Kong after his 14-year-old brother was accepted at Oxford University. March was given a place at Hong Kong Baptist University.

The previous record was held by Ganesh Sittampalam who achieved a grade A in his Maths A-level in June 1988 at the age of nine years and four months.

He went on to become the youngest British graduate of the 20th century, graduating at the age of 13 in July 1992.