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ON CAMPUS
Allegra Clarke at school in 2019 . Photo : Mary Kershaw
She would happily just sit down all day and read her physics textbooks from front to back .
Fast track
Nine-year-old to commence studies at UNSW this year .
By Wade Zaglas
A nine-year-old “ physics genius ” has been accepted to study physics at the University of New South Wales after completing senior high-school level maths and physics .
Gold Coast primary school student Allegra Clarke will commence her first physics subject online later this year at the highly ranked university , and aspires to be an astronaut , scientist , mathematician or engineer , ABC News reported .
" I was studying year 11 and 12 physics online and I worked my way through it and , to be honest , I found components pretty easy , so I started researching subjects at universities ," Allegra said .
" I found a physics course I liked for first-year students , [ then ] my parents had to contact the university after I found the course to make sure I was actually allowed because I ' m only nine .”
The nine-year-old ’ s mother , Kellie , said Allegra conducted some research and then drafted a proposal to her parents on why she should be able to commence university at her tender age . And after presenting her proposal to her mother and father about her wish to study physics , Allegra ’ s parents contacted UNSW .
A PRECOCIOUS LEARNER It ’ s probably of no surprise that Allegra ’ s passion for learning began from a very young age , with her mother recalling that she was reading encyclopedias by age four . However , the fact she was teaching her peers about black holes by five – a phenomenon many adults have trouble comprehending – highlights the extent of her early intelligence .
" She ' s always been quite bright and articulate , and interested in the world around her ," her mother said .
" Because of that , she was recommended to start school a year earlier … So it kind of started from there and we ' ve been lucky , she ' s had some great teachers and schools that have had great extension programs .”
Allegra ’ s mother is appreciative of her child ’ s “ wonderfully supportive teachers ”, and feels relieved that neither she nor her husband has had to assist their young “ genius ” with her maths homework .
"[ We ] couldn ' t help her with that even if we wanted to ," Kelly said .
Allegra ’ s mother said her talented nineyear-old is still just a normal kid , despite her advanced level of intelligence .
" She has play dates , sleepovers with friends , learns an instrument , plays sport ," she said .
" Sometimes there ' s this real juxtaposition between this little girl jumping on the trampoline with her best friend , to half an hour later into a physics textbook reading .
" We monitor it a bit because she would happily just sit down all day and read her physics textbooks from front to back . It ' s phenomenal ."
One of the nine-year-old ’ s wishes is that more girls will enrol in STEM classes , as she wants to see more “ girls extend themselves ”.
" Girls can be full of ideas that sometimes boys just don ' t know ," Allegra added .
And while Allegra Clarke ’ s intelligence and ambition are phenomenal , child geniuses pop up all over the world occasionally , sometimes completing university courses before they ’ re set to finish primary school .
One example is Laurent Simons from Belgium , who was eight when he began studying electrical engineering at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands . The story was covered by the New York Times in 2019 and , at the time , nine-year-old Laurent was expected to complete his three-year degree in 10 months , making him the youngest person to complete a degree .
However , the university later told Laurent ' s parents there were still many exams for the boy to complete to allow him to graduate before he turned 10 , and his parents later removed him from the course .
Eindhoven ' s University of Technology said Laurent could not complete the course before turning 10 , while also developing " insight , creativity and critical analysis ". Rushing the course , the university argued , could affect his academic development .
The university also warned against placing " excessive pressure on this nine-year-old student " who possessed " unprecedented talent ". ■
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