by LAUREN CODLING
A BRITISH Indian boy aged 11 has achieved an IQ test score higher than that of Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein.
Arnav Sharma, a pupil of Crosfields School in Reading, is now considered to be in the top two per cent of the country’s population in terms of IQ.
Sharma scored an impressive 162 in the infamous test, beating Einstein by two points.
The schoolboy said “[the test was] quite hard… I had to guess a few of the questions as there wasn’t much time.”
He claimed to have had no preparation or coaching for the Mensa exam, which has a benchmark score of 140.
Although he has not yet met any other young alumni, Arnav has said he hopes he will in the future.
His mother Meesha Sharma said the family was proud of his achievements and said they would support whatever he chooses to do academically.
“We don’t want to put any pressure on his decisions,” she told Eastern Eye over the phone on Tuesday (4).
“We will fully support him but leave it to him to decide what he wants to do.” The family is
from Ambala in Punjab. Arnav has a younger four-year-old brother.
Bobby Raikhy, a spokesperson for Mensa, said “children with high ability sometimes feel isolated and need the company of like-minded people” and that Mensa is “an environment where [children] can find challenge and friendship at their level.”
Since it began in 1946, Mensa has been known for accepting some of the most gifted people throughout the world into its exclusive membership.
Mensa has more than 1,100 children under the age of 17 and there are around 110 children under the age of 10.
Zia Yusuf looks on during the party's national conference at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, Britain, September 5, 2025. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes