A boy who completed his GCSEs in primary school has been accepted to London’s best university – at just 14 years old. Elias Kim will begin studying Biomedical Engineering at Imperial College in September, meaning he’ll graduate with a Master’s degree one month before his 18th birthday.
The teenager, whose family live in Oxford, was accepted on to the gruelling course after achieving top marks in his accelerated A-levels. He said: “I’m really happy because I’ve done five subjects and got pretty good grades but I’m slightly disappointed because in biology I only got an A not an A*
“Studying was quite challenging but I think the effort has paid off. I’m expecting university will be a step up but I’ll try as hard as I can I guess and see how good I’ll be.”
Elias first thought about applying for university ahead of his peers when his education stopped abruptly during the Covid pandemic. His older sisters – Clara, Ella and Juliana – began to tutor him in the likes of Maths, English and Science throughout lockdown and soon urged him to use his ‘obvious potential’ by sitting GCSEs. Their parents, both academics themselves, were also big proponents of the idea.
Half a decade later, the prodigy is the proud recipient of two unconditional letters from the UK’s most prestigious institutions, with UCL also granting him a place. An application to Oxford was reportedly only rejected due to an age restriction on practical subjects.
Now just weeks away from his first lectures, Elias says he’s got a few worries but is very excited to start. The youngster told MyLondon: “I’ve always wanted to go to university because I’ll be able to understand more stuff. I’m very curious about lots of things.
“I’m nervous because I’m so young but still really looking forward to it. It’s a whole new topic for me, with loads of different subjects within that as well. I can’t wait to delve into those.
“I’d say hanging out with older people is making me feel the most nervous. But, it’ll probably be fun and I’m hoping to make a lot of good friends.”
Luckily, there will be a few familiar faces on hand to help as Clara and Juliana are also pursuing degrees at Imperial. They commute to campus together and are already planning to introduce Elias to their friends and professors.
The pair say they feel lucky to experience the unique situation alongside their sibling. Juliana added: “I just never expected it. I mean, the age gap between me and my brother is 11 years so you know, you would never expect to be in the same school at all.
“But, getting the chance to see him is quite cool. His degree is actually under my department so I’ll be seeing him walking down the corridors at some point.”
They’re hoping younger sister Ariel will also follow in their footsteps and take the academic route. The 10-year-old’s well on her way already, having completed five GCSEs between 2024 and 2025. However, when asked what the future might look like, she stated “I don’t know, I don’t really think about it.”
For Elias, his dreams sit very firmly in the world of biology, including big ambitions to become ‘some sort’ of doctor once he reaches adulthood. But, what does one of Britain’s youngest university students do for fun? Well, he’s just like any other boy his age.
Described by his siblings as ‘surprisingly laidback’, the teenager can often be found doing magic tricks or playing video games like Minecraft and Roblox.
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