Sheffield schoolboy, 11, passes GCSE maths with top grade

An 11-year-old boy has passed his maths GCSE with the highest grade possible.

Harry Clark achieved a grade nine for the higher paper and also got an eight in his further maths exam, falling just one mark short of the top category.

The youngster, who has recently finished year six at Westbourne School in Sheffield, sat his first GCSE aged nine, scoring the highest possible grade of five in foundation maths.

He said: “Halfway through the exam I did just look around and think ‘wow, I’m sitting this exam with people who are five years older than me’. I felt so young.”

His father Richard Clark said Harry was a small child when he started reading maths books for fun and teaching himself to solve the problems in them.

He had been reluctant to put Harry forward for exams when the boy first suggested it aged eight, as he wanted to “protect” him, but has been won round by his enthusiasm.

“He just does it all himself,” said Mr Clark. “Whatever he wants to do, we will support him.”

Harry, whose ambition is to be an engineer and work in Formula One, said the latest exams were “a bit more challenging” than last time.

“There were some subjects where I had to stop and think,” he said, adding that he finished the further maths paper in just half the allotted time.

He starts secondary school at Hope Valley College in September, but will be attending A-Level maths lessons when his peers are doing their normal classes.

His father said Harry had not been promised a special reward for passing his exams but he might get “a cheeky McDonald’s on the way home” from collecting his results.