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YOUNG SUCCESS: Deborah Thorpe (left) with Dee Alli

A FIVE-YEAR-OLD who became one of the youngest students to pass a GCSE in Mathematics has said seeing Maths as a game and having a young mentor helped her success.

“I’m proud of myself,” said Deborah Thorpe, from Barking and Dagenham in London. She found out she gained an E in GCSE Mathematics today (Aug 25).

Deborah, who attends Saturday classes at the well-respected Wilson Educational Foundation, told the Voice she was happy to pass the exam but found it easy. “It’s a game of numbers,” she told The Voice.

Little Deborah said she hoped to continue studying Math. “I love Maths because it’s a game,” she said.

Deborah, who wants to be a doctor, was mentored by one of the Imafidon wonder twins, 11-year-old Paula.

On August 18, Paula, twin brother Peter and her sister, Samantha passed A level Computing. All also broke records by passing GCSE at age six.

Their father, Dr. Chris Imafidon, an education consultant who runs the Foundation where Deborah studies, told The Voice he noticed Deborah’s interest when she used to play math related children’s games such as the double double clapping game.

“It was there that she was able to learn the nine times table and once you know that, it boosts your confidence.”
He said for Deborah, who will take the exam again and then study A level Maths, “the focus was not on the exam but on playing games.”

He said she showed that the way to get children to learn was to tap into their interests. “Every child has a talent. We just need to identify it,” he said. “Once you make the curriculum flexible to accommodate a child’s needs, he or she will become a genius…”

He also said for children to have mentors is also essential. He said Deborah’s achievement came because she mirrored Paula, who was mentored by - and followed Samantha’s example.

“…You have to have someone who you look up so you follow him or her,” Dr. Imafidon said.