Meet the child prodigy about to start her maths degree

Hitting the books?

Most parents can expect to be greeted with groans when they instruct their little darlings to switch off the TV and get on with their homework. But Esther Okade, 10, is happy to knuckle down and indulge her love of maths.

Something doesn’t add up here…

While her contemporaries prepare for their SATs, Esther – who lives in Walsall in the West Midlands – will be getting to grips with a maths university degree.

Isn’t she a little young for uni?

The maths prodigy will be studying from home. Esther enrolled on an Open University course after passing her maths A-levels with a B. She completed months of tests and interviews before being accepted on to the course.

Pushy parents alert!

Actually, it was all Esther’s idea. Her mother Efe said applying to university was “an interesting process because of her age”.

She said: “After they interviewed her they realised that this has been her idea from the beginning.”

Won’t she be out of her depth?

Esther, who is home-schooled, doesn’t think so. She is aiming to get a First Class honours degree in two years and then embark on a PhD.

The young student, who enjoys watching the Disney hit Frozen when she’s not boning up on algebra and geometry, would like to run her own bank eventually – and hopes to become a millionaire.

Where did she develop her love of maths?

There’s probably a formula to work it out, but maybe it’s just in her blood – Esther’s brother Isiah is 40 per cent younger than her (six years old) and he’s already studying for his maths A-level.

More: Here is how some state schools cherry-pick the brightest children