 Tiny
twins break record as they start secondary
school
6th Mar 2010
Paula and Peter Imafidon broke world records when
they passed A-Level maths at the age of seven.
And today, the nine-year-old twins will add to their
list of achievements when they become the youngest
ever pupils in Britain to start secondary school.
Having won places at 12 top secondary schools, they
will join other nervous pupils and parents across
the country waiting to find out whether they have
offers for their chosen schools.
Councils will send out 540,000 letters to parents
today - known as 'national offer day' - with details
of which schools have accepted their children.
Last year, almost one in six 10
and 11-year-olds missed out on their top choice. Of
the 546,744 pupils aged 11 allocated places at
secondary schools, nearly 92,000 failed to get their
preferred option.
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This year, that
figure is likely to have climbed to almost 100,000
pupils.
Peter and Paula, from Waltham Forest, London, dubbed
the 'wonder twins', hit the headlines when they set
three world records by passing A and AS-level maths
papers aged seven.
They became the youngest candidates ever to pass an
A-level maths paper, the youngest school pupils to
pass the A-level maths paper and the youngest ever
twins to achieve this level in maths anywhere in the
world.
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A year later they took and
passed the University of Cambridge's Advanced
Mathematics (FAM) paper, becoming the youngest
students ever to pass the rigorous exams.
Their father Chris Imafidon said: 'We're delighted
with the progress they have made.'
Last week, research by the Daily Mail revealed that
one in every six pupils will miss out on a place at
their chosen state secondary school.
Almost 100,000 pupils are likely to be disappointed
when the allocated places are announced today.
The fierce competition is fuelled in part by
recession-hit parents abandoning independent schools
and applying to comprehensives.
Another factor is the rising number of school
closures, which has placed more pressure on already
oversubscribed schools.
Figures show that 286 secondary schools closed
during the past decade, 30 per cent of them in the
last two years.
Figures from 149 local authorities released by the
Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF)
show 83.2 per cent were offered a place at their
preferred school last year, up 1.1 per cent on 2008.
The competition has been so fierce that when
entrance exams were held, at least three leading
grammar schools were forced to call the police to
ensure they did not descend into chaos.
Tory schools spokesman Michael Gove said: 'Too often
too many parents don't get the school they want. The
reality is that it is only the rich who can
guarantee the kind of education they want for their
children.'
Schools Minister Diana Johnson said: 'The vast
majority of parents get a place at their preferred
school, most at their first preference.
'The tiny number of appeals heard compared to the
overall number of admissions shows the system is
working for the vast majority.'
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