4:36pm Wednesday 24th August 2005
A 14-YEAR-OLD Harrow boy received his second grade B at A-Level last week.
Ilia Karmanov, of Roxeth Hill, Harrow-on-the-Hill, is about to start studying for his GCSEs but has already passed economics earlier this year, when he was 13, and computing, when he was 11, at a higher level.
He passed economics after studying it for only seven months in his spare time.
Ilia said: "I got interested in economics as I have been currency trading on the internet recently after starting in stocks and shares.
"I have made a nice amount of money through that.
"It is silly to do four A levels in two years as it's so stressful.
"I got my computing A Level at 10 and that gave me a lot of confidence in my abilities.
"Now I have got two in the bag for later.
"I do not think I will take any more A Levels as I have my GCSEs coming up.
"Eventually I want to go to the London School of Economics and then maybe work in investments, possibly with Morgan Stanley, or something related to that area."
Ilia was a pupil at Ryde College in Watford which specialised in teaching computing skills to young children and encouraged them to take qualifications when they were ready rather than taking their age into account.
The college closed this year but its services continue on two sites, one at Bushey Meads School and the other in Harrow.
Both operate under the name Ryde Teaching Services.
Managing Director, Michael Ryde, said: "Some people are under the impression that we have a lot of young geniuses on our courses.
"This is not true; we believe that all children can get these qualifications if given the opportunity.
"Underpinning all of our courses is the belief that children have an amazing ability to learn and should be allowed to progress according to their ability rather than being held back due to their age."
In the past Ryde College has taught the youngest pupils nationally to attain passes at GCSE and A Level.
In 2000 one of their six year old students became the youngest person to pass a GCSE and in 1992 an 11 year old became the youngest to get a pass at A Level.
They have between 100 and 150 students every year and focus on teaching computer skills with courses even available for babies and toddlers.
Last year the average age for GCSE candidates was 12.
For more information about the services offered by Ryde, visit www.rydeteaching.co.uk
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