Fife boy, 11, passes Mensa exam with IQ higher than Stephen Hawking & Bill Gates

Kevin Sweeney, from Lochgelly, answered every question correctly to record a score of 162.

Most people fall within the 85 to 114 range. Any score over 140 is considered a high IQ.

The 11-year old sits in the top 1 per cent in the Cattell III B scale, and can now claim to be in the same category as some of the greatest minds. He has been invited to join Mensa.

The Lochgelly West Primary School pupil is on the Autism Spectrum Disorder, and his family hopes the score will help to tap into his astonishing potential.

Parents Eddie and Laura said he could read before he started school, has an surpassed knowledge of every Harry Potter book, and has learned how to play the chanter, piano and guitar.

He also memorised the full periodic table in under one week.

The couple sat the test in 2019, and Kevin was keen to follow.

“We had to wait until he was over ten,” said Eddie. “Having taken the test I know how hard it is, but he answered every question correctly.

“I sat it and some of the questions were impossible to solve.”

Eddie and Laura knew Kevin was very smart as he joined them watching TV quizzes.

“We’d watch them to see who could get the most correct,” Eddie said.

“Watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, he got the £250,000 question correct even before the options came up.

“When another show asked about the cost of a bus fare in Harry Potter, he was adamant the answer they gave was wrong, went up, found the right page in the right book within seconds, and proved he was right. The film version had used a different price.”

Kevin travelled to The Quaker Meeting House in Edinburgh to sit the test in July and, despite feeling a little poorly and nearly not making it, he aced it.

His results arrived earlier this month and he cannot wait to be involved with Mensa.

“He was delighted – over the moon“,” said Eddie. “He was running round the garden. It meant a lot more to him than we imagined it would.

“We hopes this is a great boost for him. Life has its challenges for Kevin, and we really want to help maximise his potential and give him every opportunity in life.”

One of Kevin’s inspirations is Tom Stoltman, the Scot who has twice been crowned the world’s strongest man.

He has been open about his own diagnosis of autism, describing it as his “super power”.

Eddie said: “That quote has got Kevin through difficult times in the past and now Kevin has certification that his ASD has provided him with his very own ‘super power’.”

The family now want to see Kevin complete P7 in Lochgelly West, and are looking into a secondary school that can offer support to gifted children, but haven't found anything as of yet.

“He has been through so much, but his mind is just incredible – he remembers everything,” said Eddie.