Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

IQ test puts schoolboy in group of greats: Score higher than Einstein

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.

More For You

Imran Khan

The announcement comes as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, led by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, prepares for nationwide protests on August 5, marking two years since his arrest.

Getty Images

Pakistan announces new paramilitary force ahead of PTI protests

PAKISTAN has announced the creation of a new national paramilitary force, raising concerns among opposition parties and human rights groups about its possible use for political repression.

The new force will be called the Federal Constabulary and will be formed by restructuring an existing paramilitary unit currently operating along the northwestern border with Afghanistan, state minister for the Interior Talal Chaudhry said at a press conference in Faisalabad on Monday.

Keep ReadingShow less
Altaf Hussain

Hussain has been living in London since 1992 and holds British citizenship. (Photo credit: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Founder of Pakistan's MQM Altaf Hussain hospitalised in London

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain has been hospitalised in London after falling seriously ill, according to a party official.

Hussain, 71, was admitted to a hospital on Thursday due to a severe illness, where doctors carried out various tests, Mustafa Azizabadi, Convener of MQM’s Central Coordination Committee, said on social media.

Keep ReadingShow less
Communities face 'powder keg' of unrest risk, report warns

Social media emerged as a significant threat to community cohesion, the British Future report said. (Photo: Getty Images)

Communities face 'powder keg' of unrest risk, report warns

COMMUNITIES remain at risk of fresh unrest unless urgent action is taken to address deep-seated social tensions, a new report, published one year after last summer's riots, has cautioned.

Titled 'The State of Us' by British Future thinktank and the Belong Network, the report published on Tuesday (15) said successive governments have failed to take action and warned that a "powder keg" of unresolved grievances could easily ignite again without immediate intervention.

Keep ReadingShow less
Metropolitan police

The Metropolitan Police said the sentencing followed a 'comprehensive operation'. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Gang jailed for stealing £1 million jewellery from London’s Indian community

FOUR members of an organised crime network that stole more than £1 million worth of jewellery from Indian and South Asian families in London have been sentenced to a total of 17 years and one month in prison.

The Metropolitan Police said the sentencing followed a “comprehensive operation” that led to the imprisonment of Jerry O’Donnell, 33, Barney Maloney, Quey Adger, 23, and Patrick Ward, 43. All four were sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday after previously pleading guilty to burglary.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India flight crash
Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft, operating flight AI-171 to London Gatwick, crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12.
Getty Images

After report of CAA warning on Boeing fuel switches, regulator issues clarification

FOUR weeks before an Air India Boeing 787-8 crashed after takeoff from Ahmedabad, media reports cited a safety notice issued by the UK's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) highlighting potential issues with fuel control switches on Boeing aircraft.

The CAA has now clarified that the safety notice in question — Safety Notice Number SN-2015/005 — was originally issued in 2015. The document was updated on 15 May 2025 only to change the contact email address. This routine administrative update caused the document to appear on the CAA website as if it were newly issued.

Keep ReadingShow less