Indian-origin girl Kashmea Wahi tops Mensa test in UK

London, Jan 11: A 11-year-old Indian-origin girl in the UK has achieved the top possible score of 162 on a IQ test of Mensa, becoming one of the youngest brainiest students in the country.

Mumbai-born Kashmea Wahi achieved the top score of 162 out of 162, putting her in the league of scientists Albert Einstein and Steven Hawking and in the top 1 per cent of the country's brightest.

"It's overwhelming to be compared with the likes of Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein, the comparison is implausible and I believe it would take loads of achievements for anyone like myself to be able to get into the league of such legends. Anyways, I am buzzing with excitement," Kashmea said.

Both Hawking and Einstein are thought to have an IQ of 160. The daughter of IT management consultants, Vikas and Pooja Wahi, at Deutsche Bank in London took the test to prove a point to her parents. The Cattell III B Mensa test is a well-known international evaluation process and Kashmea stumbled upon it while browsing her iPad.

Cattell III B has 150 questions, often assessing comprehension through passages of texts, while the maximum score that can be achieved is 161 for adults, and 162 for under-18s.

The high achiever at school felt it would be a good way to convince her parents to get off her case for not being buried in her books for long hours.

"We are ecstatic at Kashmea's Mensa achievement. Although we always believed she had the intellectual prowess, the acknowledgement is reassuring that she does possess the ability, the energy which if well channelised, can lead to something wonderful," her parents said.

The student of Notting Hill and Ealing Junior School, in west London, was instrumental in her school team making it to third place in the Oxford Maths challenge last year, loves net ball, plays competitive lawn tennis and has competed in national level chess tournaments, winning medals and trophies.

"I can confirm that Kashmea is one of the youngest to achieve 162 in the supervised test as it can only be taken by people over the age of 10 and a half," a Mensa spokesperson confirmed.

Mensa is believed to be the largest and oldest high IQ society in the world. Membership is open to anyone who can demonstrate an IQ in the top 2 per cent of the population, measured by a recognised or approved IQ testing process.

PTI