Sheffield GCSEs: Youngster Harry Clark passes maths GCSE aged just nine, now plans Formula One career

He may only be aged nine - but brainy Sheffield youngster Harry Clark has already passed his maths GSCE.

Delighted Harry said he “couldn’t believe it” when he discovered he'd scored a grade five - which is the same as an old-style grade A. He dropped just 15 marks on his foundation paper.

His surprise was revealed in a video filmed by his parents, where he exclaimed “No way – five! I’ve got a five!” after finding out his result.

Harry said about his grade: “I was really happy when I got it. I really couldn’t believe that I’d got a five.”

His dad Richard Clark, 44, said Harry's incredible abilities were revealed when he started reading books from the age of three.

And by the time he had started school, he was already completing maths tasks that were set for pupils who were around ten years older.

Richard said Harry’s school didn’t have the resources to cope with his skills, so he'd hired a private tutor who’d taught him GCSE-level arithmetic.

And he was overjoyed with the result, revealing he had already begun thinking about taking an A-level in maths.

He said: “Ever since he was young, we knew Harry was brilliant at maths. We would see him every day taking himself off to do some.

“He did the exam in May and sat three papers, but when he came out, he said they were ‘easy’.

“When the results came through, we were worried that he might not do very well. We didn’t want to see him disappointed.

“But he ended up dropping only 15 marks out of 240 – he ended up smashing it. I think everyone in the house was in tears.”

He added: "We went to Waterstones after he got the result and got him an A-level textbook. He's already started learning the arithmetic."

University lecturer Richard said it had become clear that Harry, from Sheffield, South Yorks, had advanced abilities when he started devouring books as a toddler.

And his passion for maths developed when he began choosing to read material on arithmetic that he'd found in the local shops.

Richard said: “He was reading pretty much from the age of three, way in advance of kids books.

“And because he could read, when we went to the bookshop, he would grab the maths textbooks and then take himself off to his bedroom and look at them.

“He started doing the sums in the back of the books, and when he started school in reception, they knew within the first week that his level was actually year five or six [aged 13-14].”

Richard said Harry became frustrated with doing calculations suitable for his age at school, so he'd hire a private tutor for him to let him develop his passion.

And his new teacher showed him how to demonstrate his workings so that he could prepare to take the GCSE exam.

Richard said: “The tutor showed Harry how to show his calculations a lot more because a lot of the arithmetic he had been doing was in his head.

“And last year, he said to put him in for the GCSE as he was ready for it. We decided to put him in for the foundation paper because we didn’t want to burden him.”

Richard said he hadn’t forced his lad to learn maths and explained that Harry also loved cross-country running and being in the outdoors with his friends.

He added: “We didn’t push him at all, he’s just a kid that’s really good at maths.

Formula One engineer plans

“He’s a keen runner. He did his one-hundredth park run a few weeks ago. He also absolutely loves Lego and building stuff. He’s just another normal nine-year-old.”

Sports fan Harry said he hoped to become an F1 engineer when he was older.

He said: “I want to be an engineer, but not for Red Bull – at least while Max [Verstappen] is there. I prefer Mercedes, but my favourite driver is Lando Norris."