Nigerian math genius, Esther Okade, starts university in the UK at 10

Esther Okade who started her university undergraduate studies at the age of ten, is also known to be spending her spare time in a similar way to many other ten-year-old girls - playing with Barbie dolls and making loom bands.

She's one of the UK's youngest university students studying for a maths degree with the Open University. Esther enrolled three weeks ago and is already top of the class, scoring 100 per cent on a recent test.

Esther, from Walsall, in the West Midlands, isn't the only member of her family with a talent for numbers - her six-year-old brother Isaiah is already taking an A-level in maths.

Her mother, Efe, said applying to the university was "an interesting process because of her age.'' She added, ''we even had to talk to the Vice Chancellor.''

"After they interviewed her they realised that this has been her idea from the beginning. From the age of seven Esther has wanted to go to university. But I was afraid it was too soon. She would say, 'Mum, when am I starting?', and go on and on and on. Finally, after three years she told me, 'Mum I think it is about time I started university now."

Esther applied in August, and after a phone interview, an essay and a maths exam, she finally got the news in December that she had been accepted onto the course.

"She was flying," said Efe. She was so happy.  She is doing so well. She took a test recently and scored 100 per cent. Esther talks about running her own bank one day. She has a lot of plans, and talks a lot about finances. She says she wants to be a millionaire.

"Isaiah is following in his sister's footsteps. He is doing calculus and advanced algebra. Even when he was in my tummy Esther was already teaching him."

Esther isn't the youngest child ever to be enrolled on a university course.

• Esther is among the youngest children to ever go to university in the UK. In 1981 Ruth Lawrence, from Brighton, became the youngest person to pass the Oxford exam at 10 years old. She graduated in 1985 at the age of 13 with a first class degree in Mathematics.

“We had heard about Ruth, but we felt that it would be better for Esther to do her course at home. Perhaps when she turns 18 she can go to university with her peers and get the most out of it. But for now we want her to enjoy her childhood as well as her maths,'' Efe said.

Source: Daily mail Uk