Horsham schoolgirl, 8, proves herself a little genius

Eight-year-old Millicent Vaishali Daykin is officially listed as ‘highly gifted’ and has qualified as a member of Mensa - the largest IQ society in the world.

Mum Leena said: “All of the family, and especially her younger mathematically-talented sister Hazel, are proud of her achievement.”

Millicent received an IQ test score of 145 - the average is between 85 and 115 and the Mensa requirement level is ‘just’ 132.

Physicist Stephen Hawking’s IQ was 160 and genius scientist Albert Einstein’s rating is thought to have been between 160-190, although official ‘tests’ were not around during his lifetime.

Millicent’s family, who live in Faygate, noticed that she had a good memory when she was still very young.

Mum Leena said: “Millicent was one-year-old when she could read simple words and was reading chapter books at the age of four.

“By five-years-old she was on to Harry Potter and the Land of Stories books.

“She is a very fast reader.”

She had read the entire Harry Potter series before the age of six.

But Leena maintains that Millicent does not get her brains from her or her husband Mark, who works for Google as a video and display manager.

Leena runs a start up company called Moss & Wild which produces moss frames and moss walls promoting biophilic interior design.

Millicent attended Heron Way Primary School in Horsham - where her sister Hazel, six, is also a pupil - until last term.

Her parents have decided to home educate her from this term.

But Millicent does not spend all her time swotting up - as well as reading, she loves to spend time coding and playing the online system Roblox.

She also has a pet kitten called Cosmo. “He is her best friend,” said Leena.

“She loves him very much and cares for him and looks after him.”

In fact, at the moment, her future ambition is a long way from Stephen Hawking’s or Albert Einstein’s - she wants to help animals in need.

Meanwhile, six-year-old Hazel is following in her sister’s smart footsteps and also showing signs of high potential.

Leena said she and Mark were proud of both their gifted daughters.

“We are very proud and learning slowly to celebrate their talents and achievements in a culture which often tells us not to.”