Tariq Nelson

I always find things like this to be fascinating:

They enjoy a good philosophical debate, parse sentences for fun and conquered quadratic equations when most children were reading Ladybird books.

But Britain’s brightest, most intimidating youngsters are also as mischievous as the Nintendo-obsessed friends they have left behind.

Child Genius, a Channel 4 documentary about gifted children, revealed yesterday how 10 young musicians, chess players, maths wizards, junior philosophers and linguists cope with their gift of unusual intelligence.

It followed Dante Minghella, a 12-year-old, as he scored 170 in an IQ test then wonders why a teacher tells him to “dumb down” a story he has written.

And the parents of Adam Napier Smith, seven, explained how they came close to bankruptcy as they tried to afford private schools that would keep their precocious son out of mischief.

Here, The Daily Telegraph tells the stories of the parents and children, aged three to 13, who are learning to balance genius and innocence.

Dante Minghella
Aged 12, south London

With an IQ of 170, a passion for philosophy and a wit that can skewer adults more than three times his age, Dan nevertheless struggles with self-esteem. He has been judged “supremely gifted” by educational psychologists, and has special interests in neuroscience and alien life.

But his parents, Dominic and Sarah, worry that he could suffer from depression, because he has also been identified as vulnerable because of a fixation with being perfect.

[...]

He attends a highly selective private school with many gifted children, yet its teachers still find Dante an intimidating character

Filed under: Children's Issues, Posts of no Benefit