11-year-old joins Mensa with IQ of 162

Arjun said "he loves to challenge himself but gets nervous for the results"

An 11-year-old boy from Wraysbury in Berkshire has become one of Mensa's newest members.

Arjun, who attends St Bernards Preparatory School in Slough, joined the society for people with sky-high IQ in July after scoring 162 - which puts him in the top 1%.

"I'm blown away by him," his father Tarun Bithal said. "Obviously, as a family we are all very proud of him."

Arjun said when he got the Mensa result he felt "happy and ecstatic".

Mensa accepts people who score within the top 2% of the general population in an approved intelligence test.

Arjun explained that he has always been interested in documentaries rather than cartoons and loves to do puzzles to challenge himself.

His favourite subjects are maths and geography but he also enjoys drama.

Dad Tarun (left) and Mum Rita (right) with Arjun (centre) say they are "very proud"

His father said: "Arjun has always had a good memory and been able to pick things up quickly.

"From the age of five he was interested in the world map, he could tell us all the flags, spell the capital cities and could name all the planets.

"He has always been eager to learn and is self motivated," he added.

Arjun said he "stumbled across IQ tests and found them interesting".

"I don't do them for fun but for interest, I love to challenge myself.

"I still get nervous before tests, but I'm more nervous about the results," he added.

Rita, his mother explained that he did the research and found out where to take the Mensa test, "he booked it himself".

She said: "He pushes himself, we don't push him or call him a genius."

"He is still a normal child, he likes to play computer games, like all children his age," she added.

Arjun said he is excited about going to secondary school and in the future hopes to study either maths or economics at university.