Johnathan's a whiz at 11 years old

King's School maths prodigy Johnathan Leung says he enjoys problem-solving. Photo / Jason Oxenham

When it comes to maths, 11-year-old Johnathan Leung is right up there with students gaining university entrance. And he's not shy of giving anything else a go either.

The King's School student scored 92 per cent, an A, in the recent AS Cambridge mathematics exams - usually the domain of Year 12 students.

He also took the Cambridge physics exam for Year 11 students and scored 96 per cent, an A*. A D grade is enough to satisfy some university entry requirements.

"He's a maths whiz," said teacher Simon Jones. "He's a boy that wants more. He wants to make the most of everything that he has in front of him."

Johnathan's mum, Wendy Leung, said they hadn't noticed their son had any special talent before he started school. "He was shy and a bit quiet, not many friends at all," she said.

After Year 3, when he started at King's, he began to spend a lot of time after school on maths, and was given an extra tutor, and then a teacher aide - a maths professor from Russia.

With the support of the school, Johnathan also had the chance to attend King's College once a week.

Despite having a severe Erb's palsy - a kind of paralysis - in his left arm since birth, he also plays the trumpet and the piano and has recently started playing badminton. In his first year at King's, he ran cross-country, coming last. But by last year he was 62nd out of 100 boys. Said his mum: "We can see the changes in Johnathan, in his personality growing, becoming more confident, making some friends and enjoying school life so much."

Johnathan said he liked maths because he enjoys problem-solving.

This year he will study the Year 11 Cambridge chemistry course.