LONDON – A 16-year-old British-Pakistan girl, Mahnoor Cheema, has made a new record by passing 34 subjects at the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) level, highest ever number of subjects by any student in history of the UK and EU GCSEs.
Talking to Daily Pakistan in an exclusive interview, Cheema, who lives in London along with her family, said her subjects included physics, chemistry, biology, maths, economics, sociology and psychology. She said that she had a special interest in languages therefore she picked five language subjects among 34 others.
“I had set my targets from the beginning,” Cheema said, adding that she wanted to do something at the GCSE level. She said her family, especially her mother, supported and encouraged her in the mission.
Talking about her future goals, the teenager said she would pursue her career in medicine. “Either I would become a cardiac surgeon or neuro surgeon,” she said, adding that she wanted to find a cure for cancer.
She said she is also interested in politics and wants to play a role in betterment of Pakistan. In politics, she said she likes PML-N leaders Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif and wants to do something for the country under their leadership.
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“We are strong supporters of PML-N,” she said.
Her mother Tayyaba Cheema revealed that her daughter had planned to pass 45 to 47 subjects, but she could not do so due to her school.
Usman Cheema, the father of the talented girl, said it was a success of the entire family.
Mahnoor Cheema passed 17 subjects with A* grades as a private candidate. A day earlier, she passed another 17 subjects to achieve the milestone of 34 subjects.
Mahnoor’s family settled in the UK in 2006 and she was admitted to Langley Grammar School in West London after her initial education at a private school in her hometown Lahore.
She has already added several feathers to her cap as her IQ had been recognised on a global level, at 161 on the Mensa IQ Test, more than Albert Einstein, whose IQ level was believed to 160.
Mahnoor completed ABRSM Music Theory and Practical at Grade 8, becoming the youngest candidate to pursue the music diploma.
The 16-year-old has been shortlisted for the prestigious John Locke essay competition, with the awards ceremony taking place in Oxford later this year.
