London schoolboy, 11, who was 'bottom of the class' joins Mensa
A London schoolboy who was previously “almost bottom of the class” has joined Mensa at the age of 11.
Dhruv, who is a pupil at Robin Hood Junior school in Sutton, joined the society last month after scoring an impressive 162 in an IQ test.
The society only accepts members whose IQ is in the top two per cent of the population, based on approved intelligence tests.
Dhruv was diagnosed with special educational needs in infant school.
His father Praveen Kumar, who has lived in London for 21 years since moving from India, said he previously despaired at his son’s apparently poor academic performance.
“He was almost at the bottom of the class in Year 2,” he told the BBC.
"I was crying on the inside. I just wanted him to be an average boy and have a normal life. The teachers said 'He's not learning anything at all'.
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"He's completely changed. It's a rags to riches story.
"As a family, we are very proud of him," he added. "I am very lucky to be his dad."
Dhruv’s head teacher Elisabeth Broers described him as “a delight”.
"He's an all-rounder, a lovely boy, talented at art and good at sharing his knowledge and skills with his class,” she told the BBC.
"He's a happy chap and that's what we aim for. It's the whole child that we're interested in rather than just his IQ.
"We're very pleased for him but all our children are remarkable in one way or another."
Mr Kumar said Dhruv is “happy” about his IQ results, but “doesn't want to talk about it too much”.
Mensa was founded in England in 1946 with the aim of creating a society for bright people, and today has around 140,000 members worldwide, including 18,000 in the UK.
Its members range in age from two to 102.
It offers tests to people aged 10-and-a-half and above, while for younger applicants evidence demonstrating an IQ in the top two percent must be provided.
A Mensa spokesperson told the BBC: "Anyone who registers an IQ score which places them in the top 2% of the population has done remarkably well.
"The score Dhruv achieved therefore is very good and shows he has great potential."
