Tariq Nelson

I always find things like this to be fascinating:

They enjoy a good philosophical debate, parse sentences for fun and conquered quadratic equations when most children were reading Ladybird books.

But Britain’s brightest, most intimidating youngsters are also as mischievous as the Nintendo-obsessed friends they have left behind.

Child Genius, a Channel 4 documentary about gifted children, revealed yesterday how 10 young musicians, chess players, maths wizards, junior philosophers and linguists cope with their gift of unusual intelligence.

It followed Dante Minghella, a 12-year-old, as he scored 170 in an IQ test then wonders why a teacher tells him to “dumb down” a story he has written.

And the parents of Adam Napier Smith, seven, explained how they came close to bankruptcy as they tried to afford private schools that would keep their precocious son out of mischief.

Here, The Daily Telegraph tells the stories of the parents and children, aged three to 13, who are learning to balance genius and innocence.

Dante Minghella
Aged 12, south London

With an IQ of 170, a passion for philosophy and a wit that can skewer adults more than three times his age, Dan nevertheless struggles with self-esteem. He has been judged “supremely gifted” by educational psychologists, and has special interests in neuroscience and alien life.

But his parents, Dominic and Sarah, worry that he could suffer from depression, because he has also been identified as vulnerable because of a fixation with being perfect.

[...]

He attends a highly selective private school with many gifted children, yet its teachers still find Dante an intimidating character – quick to pick holes in any illogical argument or lack of knowledge.

Professor Joan Freeman, the eminent child psychologist who assessed the children, said he had a complex and intriguing personality.

“Dante is a great character, he has a fantastic wit. [But] his problems are that he somehow has the feeling of not being quite good enough.”

He struggles to interact with people his own age, despite being a classroom comedian, and prefers the company of academics.

Adam Napier Smith
Aged 7, west London

At just 18 months Adam could do 200 piece jigsaws; at three he was calculating using long division; and by six he was tackling quadratic equations and trigonometry.

When his IQ was tested during the programme it was off the scale, and set at the maximum of 170. He said he was pleased: “It is good to be able to achieve such things”.

[...]

Michael Dowling
Aged 12, Oxfordshire

Michael is a published author and therefore a fully qualified child prodigy.

At six years old, he was reading Tolkien and Shakespeare. By the age of five he was learning Hebrew and at eight he was studying Mandarin, as well as ‘Old Norse’, a precursor to the English Language.

By the age of 10, Michael had published the first in his three-part fantasy trilogy, co-authored by his mother, Diane, an Oxford Fellow of English. He is currently writing the final book in the Corydon series, based on a shepherd boy and rooted in Greek mythology and the works of Homer (a favourite of Michael’s).

He is also a gourmet cook, plays the harp and likes to visit three Michelin star restaurants.

[...]

Mikhail Ali
Aged four, Leeds

Mikhail is the youngest ever member of Mensa, qualifying at just three years old with an IQ of 137 (five more points than Bill Clinton).

He is British Bangladeshi, and lives with his parents in Leeds.

He has an extraordinary gift for maths, and where other children his age are still learning numbers up to ten, Mikhail can add and subtract in the thousands, multiply and square numbers.

According to his teacher, Mikhail has an obsession for numbers – they even pop up in his stories.

His parents, Tahir and Shamsun, constantly coach him in maths and he spends most of his time doing sums either with his parents or alone in front of the computer.

His mother said last year: “We haven’t got a clue where he gets his talent from. When we are out driving, he reads out loud the motorway and road names. He just isn’t happy unless he is learning.”

Here are some genius children: