A Singaporean boy sat for the British equivalent of the GCE A-level examinations last year and aced all his papers - and he was not even 13 yet.
Muhammad Haikal Abdullah Zain, a former student of Rosyth School, scored straight As in Biology, Physics and Chemistry, which he took last November.
He turned 13 a month later and plans to apply to study medicine at the National University of Singapore (NUS).
The A-level exams Haikal sat last year carry the same weight as the GCE A levels taken by junior college students here, said the British Council, which administers the exam.
NUS confirmed it would accept students with those qualifications.
Said its office of admissions director R. Rajaram: 'We recently learnt of his interest in applying to NUS. We will be pleased to assess his application when we receive it.'
He added that applicants who seek admission to the university ahead of their peers must 'show evidence of exceptional talent and passion beyond good examination grades'. They must also be mature enough to deal with much older classmates and handle the demands of a broad-based university education.
The son of an engineer and a housewife, Haikal told The Straits Times at his family's maisonette home yesterday that he wanted to try the higher-level exams four years ago when he heard about Singaporean boy Ainan Cawley, who at seven became the youngest person in the world to pass the GCE O-level chemistry examination. 'I thought this guy was only seven and could get a C at the O-levels. Since I'm older I should be able to get an A,' he said.
Haikal is enrolled at the NUS High School of Mathematics and Science but the school gave him leave a year ago to concentrate on his exams.
In June, he took the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), an internationally recognised qualification equivalent to the O levels, in Physics, Biology and Chemistry and scored A* for all subjects.
He also sat for the A-level Maths paper the same month and scored an A.
NUS High said it is helping his parents map out the next phase of his education.
Haikal was also in the Gifted Education Programme at Rosyth School in Serangoon, where he scored 274 points out of 300 in the Primary School Leaving Examination.
Madam Salha Abdat, 39, and her husband Abdullah Zain, 40, a director of an engineering company, have three other children aged between three and 12.
Their second child Farhan, a Primary 6 pupil at Rosyth, also scored three A*s and one A in the IGCSE exams last year.
During Haikal's study leave, he also took time off to pursue his other interests such as chess and computer programming. He has won medals at international and national competitions for chess, holds a Grade 8 certificate in violin, and practises taekwondo.
He studied for the exams without any coaching from anyone, said his mother.
Haikal said he has dreamt of studying medicine since he was six and hopes to become a neurologist because 'the brain controls almost all the functions of the body and I think it will be interesting to study how it works'.
Tags:
Vietnews is not responsible
for the content of external internet sites.
POST YOUR COMMENT
City & Country
Phone Number
We will not publish
your email or full address on our website, or give them to a third party.