Howell’s girl becomes Wales’ youngest member of MENSA

A nursery girl at Howell’s School has become Wales’ youngest member of MENSA, the high IQ society. Four-year-old Georgia Grace is one of just six pre-school MENSA members across the UK and Ireland.

Georgia’s mother, Helen, noticed her daughter had a natural aptitude for learning numbers and letters as soon as she began to speak. She said:

“When she was just a few months past her first birthday, we were walking in Cardiff Bay and she sounded out the letters on the BBC sign. She seems to have a really strong memory, and has always been incredibly focused, whatever she is doing.

“Since she started attending the nursery at Howell’s, it’s been clear she has a real hunger for learning, always asking lots of questions with a voracious appetite for knowledge, and I had an idea that there might be something unique about her. I’m a MENSA member myself, so I knew there were tests that we could try.”

After assessments last month, which lasted a total of five hours, and tested Georgia’s aptitude for English and Mathematics, the results confirmed that Georgia’s IQ meant that she was eligible for MENSA membership—putting her in the top 2% in the country.

Judith Ashill, Deputy Principal and Head of Junior School at Howell’s said:

“We are delighted for Georgia and feel very proud of her incredible achievement. In the Nursery at Howell’s we give all our girls opportunities for thought, exploration and discovery.”

MENSA was founded in England in 1946 by Roland Berrill, a barrister, and Dr Lance Ware, a scientist and lawyer. They had the idea of forming a society for bright people, the only qualification for membership of which was a high IQ.

The society welcomes people from every walk of life whose IQ is in the top two per cent of the population, with the objective of enjoying each other’s company and participating in a wide range of social and cultural activities.