Off to uni - at just 14 years old (From Daily Echo)

A-level genius Wajih Ahmed bags place on degree course aged just 14

10:59am Thursday 16th August 2012 in Eastleigh By Luke Tugby, Senior reporter

HE will be too young to drive to his university campus, drink alcohol at the students’ union bar, or enjoy late night parties during freshers’ week.

He is not even old enough to watch the 15-rated Hollywood blockbuster Ted at the cinema .

But, come September, 14-year-old child prodigy Wajih Ahmed will make history, when he enrols on an Economics degree at the University of Southampton .

While hundreds of students across Hampshire will have had sleepless nights ahead of today’s all important Alevel results, talented teenager Wajih knows he has already done enough to secure his place at university, after bagging A* grades in maths and further maths, as well as an A grade in chemistry, last year.

And today he is set to add even more qualifications to his impressive CV, when he picks up results for physics and AS economics, from Barton Peveril College, in Eastleigh .

But no matter what those papers reveal, it is believed that Wajih, from Bere Close, Chandler’s Ford , will become the youngest student ever to study at the university – and one of the youngest to enrol at any university in the UK.

His feat is eclipsed only by Ruth Lawrence, who graduated from Oxford University in 1985, aged just 13.

Wajih, who dreams of becoming an actuary in the finance sector, said: “It’s been my plan for a few years now to start university at 14. It’s been a lot of hard work, but it’s been worth it.

“There might be some natural talent there, but I study for about two hours a day and I think that a lot of children could achieve what I have if they put their minds to it.”

Wajih, whose hobbies include playing football and Xbox, added: “University is definitely going to be harder, but I have three years to concentrate on one subject now, so that will be good and I’m really looking forward to it.”

His parents, Usman, 46, and Saadia, 40, told the Daily Echo of their pride at their son’s achievement.

Usman, who works for the Ministry of Defence, said: “I cannot find the words to express my pride.

“When I look back at my childhood, I couldn’t even have dreamed of gaining the achievements that Wajih has managed.”

Professor Debra Humphris, Pro Vice- Chancellor Education at the University of Southampton, said: “We are delighted to welcome Wajih to the University of Southampton together with all new and returning students and congratulate them all on their exams results. “Like all undergraduates, Wajih will receive the highest levels of support, guidance and help throughout his degree. We hope he will enjoy his time at the University of Southampton.”

But Wajih’s record is already under threat, with younger brother Zohaib hoping to follow in his older brother’s footsteps. The 12-year-old became the youngest child in history to get a top grade A-level, at the tender age of nine.

And he is aiming to emulate his brother by joining him as a student at the University of Southampton in two years’ time.

The duo will pick up a host of GCSE results from Thornden School next Thursday, before jetting off on a celebratory family holiday to New York.

Wajih’s results so far:

• GCSE Maths A*
• GCSE Science A*A*A*
• GCSE Statistics A*
• GCSE RE A*
• A level Maths A*
• A level Further Maths A*
• A level Chemistry A
• AS level Physics A