- Esther Okade from Walsall has enrolled on Open University course
- After degree she wants to study for PhD before running her own bank
- Girl's younger brother Isiah is already studying for A-levels aged six
- Siblings are both home-schooled by mathematician mother Omonefe
Course: Esther Okade has been accepted to study for a maths degree - despite not going to school
She spends her spare time in a similar way to many other ten-year-old girls - playing with Barbie dolls and making loom bands.
But
the key difference between Esther Okade and other children her age is
that she has been accepted to study for a university maths degree -
despite not going to school.
Esther,
from Walsall, West Midlands, has enrolled on an Open University course
months after she passed her A-levels - and wants to study for a PhD
before running her own bank.
The
girl, who gained a C grade in her maths GCSE aged six, has joined the
course which started this month. Her younger brother Isiah is already
studying for his A-levels - also aged six.
The
siblings are both home-schooled by their mother Omonefe, who has
converted the living room of their semi-detached, three-bedroom house
into a makeshift classroom.
Mathematician
Mrs Okade, 37, said: ‘Esther is doing so well. She took a test recently
and scored 100 per cent. Applying to the university was an interesting
process because of her age.
‘We
even had to talk to the vice-chancellor. After they interviewed her
they realised that this has been her idea from the beginning. From the
age of seven Esther has wanted to go to university.
Happy: Esther (left) is pictured last year with her mother Omonefe (right) after passing her A-level in maths
Following in her footsteps: The schoolgirl (left and right) is pictured at home in Walsall with her brother Isaiah
‘But
I was afraid it was too soon. She would say, “Mum, when am I
starting?”, and go on and on and on. Finally, after three years she told
me, “Mum, I think it is about time I started university now”.’
Mrs
Okade added that Esther - who will study for her degree at home - was
‘flying’ and ‘so happy’ when she was accepted by the university, and
wants to be a millionaire.
She
said: ‘For now we want her to enjoy her childhood as well as her maths.
By the time she was four I had taught her the alphabet, her numbers, and
how to add, subtract, multiply and division.
‘I
saw that she loved patterns so developed a way of using that to teach
her new things. I thought I would try her with algebra, and she loved it
more than anything.’
Another bright spark: In 1981 Ruth
Lawrence (above) from Brighton became the youngest person to pass the
exam for Oxford University, as a ten-year-old - and graduated aged 13
with a first-class degree in maths
Esther stunned her parents last year when she achieved a B grade in her pure maths A-level.
She
applied to the Open University last August - and after a phone
interview, an essay and an exam, she was told in December that she had
been accepted onto the course.
Mum, I think it is about time I started university now
What Esther Okade told her mother
Her
father Paul, 42, a managing director, added: ‘I cannot tell you how
happy and proud I am as a father. The desire of every parent is to see
their children exceed them, and take the family name to great heights,
and my children have done just that.’
In
1981 Ruth Lawrence, of Brighton, became the youngest person to pass the
exam for Oxford University, as a ten-year-old - and graduated aged 13
with a first-class degree in maths.
Now
aged 43 and a married mother-of-two, Mrs Lawrence is an associate
professor of maths at the Einstein Institute of Mathematics, at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
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