A British-Nigerian girl ahead earned a bachelor’s degree in Financial Mathematics from a UK university.
Since childhood, Esther Okade developed a passion for tackling tough mathematical problems, such as quadratic equations, at the age of three.
After making a C in Mathematics at the GCSE when she was only 6, Esther tried again a year later and got the A-grade she wanted, and in 2014, she scored a B-grade when she wrote the Math A-level exam. Her impressive feat made the University of Cambridge invite her to study Mathematics at the institution.
Esther, who lives in Walsall, in the West Midlands, with her parents, wanted to start school at age 7, but her mum, Omonefe Okade, preferred to homeschool her.
“I actually wanted to start when I was seven. But my mum was like, “you’re too young, calm down.” After three years of begging, her mother finally agreed to allow Esther to attend college.
In 2015, at age 10, she was enrolled at Open University (a UK-based distance learning college) to study Mathematics, becoming the youngest undergraduate student in the UK.
Her stellar performance continued in her new school; Esther got straight A’s and became the best student in her class after a few weeks.
“It’s so interesting. It has the type of maths I love. It’s real maths — theories, complex numbers, all that type of stuff, it was super easy. My mum taught me in a nice way. I want to have my own bank by the time I’m 15 because I like numbers and I like people, and banking is a great way to help people,” she told CNN in 2015.
Now 16 years of age, Esther has bagged a PhD in Financial Mathematics after receiving a Bachelor’s degree in the same field 3 years earlier from the same university. She has written many math textbooks for kids, including Yummy Yummy Algebra.
