Storrington boy wants caesium for Christmas after Mensa acceptance

Ben Blackburn, from Storrington, made it into the exclusive society with an impressive score of 157 out of 161, which puts his IQ in the top one per cent of the population.

Ben is also one of the society’s youngest members with only eight per cent aged under 16.

Mensa is the world’s oldest high-IQ society and for someone to become a member they must complete a test to prove their IQ is in the top two per cent of the population.

Ben has dyspraxia and his dad Chris said the youngster struggled with spelling, handwriting and his times tables, but he showed a flair for science.

Ben with his dad Chris (Image: Chris Blackburn)

Mr Blackburn and his wife Lisa’s suspicions were raised when he started asking for chemical elements for Christmas and even built his own PC, so they decided to enter him for a Mensa test without him realising.

“He has a real passion for science - he has always wanted to be a scientist and he has some very unusual hobbies,” said Mr Blackburn, who oversees a renewable energy company based in Portugal.

“Last year he saved up all his Christmas and birthday money and spent it on elements of the periodic table - which we had to ship from America.

“He literally wanted a chunk of caesium for Christmas - which was not that easy to get.

“It got flagged by customs.

Ben collects chemical elements (Image: Chris Blackburn)

“He is also very interested in immunology.

“He built his own PC and is very computer literate.

“When he talks, some of the things he says show great insight and perception which means you quite often have to do a double take.

“We were reading articles on the internet about how things like dyslexia and dyspraxia can disguise intelligence and lead to underachievement and it occurred to us that Ben might be one of those kids, so I booked him for a Mensa test.

“To soften it a bit I did not tell Ben he was going for a Mensa test - only it was another psychometric assessment for his dyspraxia.”

The keen scientist has also made it into another high IQ society called Intertel, which only accepts the top one per cent.

Ben wants to become a scientist (Image: Chris Blackburn)

“His badges for both societies, which he is most proud of, are coming in the post as well as some new elements that he has ordered from America," said Mr Blackburn.

Ben also received a massive bar of chocolate from his grandparents in celebration.

"The badge is pretty cool and the grandparents gave me a big bar of chocolate," he said.