British-Pakistani schoolgirl Mahnoor Cheema, who grabbed headlines last year after scoring a record 34 A*s in O-levels, recently spoke about the ‘misconception’ she was an ‘exam robot,’ saying many of the subjects she was pursuing required analysis and creativity.
Cheema, 17, has an IQ higher than Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein and has her sights set on studying at Oxford University. After sitting 34 GCSEs, she began sixth form in September last year and enrolled in 28 courses.
She completed four A-levels in November and scored four A*s in environmental management, marine science, English language and thinking skills. She will be sitting for the final exams for eight more courses next month, including math, further math, chemistry, biology and film studies.
“A big misconception is I’m just an exam robot, but loads of the subjects I do require analysis too,” Cheema said in a recent interview to the South West News Service. “For film studies, I have to create a film, edit, write the script. And with English you have to develop your own critical stance.”
Cheema was born in the UK but moved to Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore with her parents in 2010 before her family moved back to the UK in 2016. By the age of six, Mahnoor had read all seven Harry Potter books, and, by 11, had memorized the entire Oxford English Dictionary.
She studied 24 GCSEs in her own time alongside 10 at Langley Grammar School and scored 33 nines and one eight — equivalent to 33 A*s and one A/A*.
“I just read the book and it goes into my head. I don’t really take notes, I find them to be a waste of time,” Mahnoor, who dreams of doing a TED talk one day, said. “I don’t think my memory is photographic, but it’s good!”
As a budding medicine student, her favorite subjects are math and sciences but she’s also studying film studies and French:
“The main enjoyment for me is studying the subject and the rich knowledge — the exam is just the qualification.”
Her mother, Tayyaba Cheema, who has a masters in economics, said her daughter was “quite different” from a young age and she had created a study timetable to make sure she made time to see friends, travel and enjoy hobbies.
And there was no “no pressure” from her or husband Usman Cheema, 48, a barrister, for Mahnoor to do anything more than what she wanted.
“I have given her the choice, I just say ‘whatever you do in life, do it the best you can’,” Tayyaba said.
“BURNOUT IS A CHOICE”
Cheema said she had no regrets about taking on so many subjects and would be “bored and understimulated” if she only did the standard three A-levels.
“Absorbing content and analyzing and evaluating things comes naturally to me. I’m busy but I don’t take on so much that it’ll cause me stress or pressure — I try to do everything within my capabilities,” she said, explaining that she took so many subjects because she had “loads of interests.”
“I think if you have the capability to do more, it should be explored.”
“Burnout is a big thing for some people but I’m just motivated and driven and it doesn’t affect me,” the pupil added. “I see burnout as a choice. It’s not burnout if you enjoy what you’re doing.”
