14-year-old enrols at Tuks

A 14-year-old boy has made history by becoming the youngest student to enrol at the University of Pretoria, Pretoria East Rekord reports.

“I took Hjalmar out of school in grade 5 because he didn’t like school at all. He was unhappy all the time, and it just made sense to have him homeschooled,” said Hjalmar’s father Heinrich.

Hjalmar was homeschooled from Grade 6, following the Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education Curriculum.

The curriculum is a two-year programme with exams set, marked and certificated from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.

As a result of the curriculum’s fast pace, Hjalmar finished grades 6, 7 and 8 in about three months.

While completing matric, he obtained As for Afrikaans and physics, Bs for maths and chemistry and a C for English.

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Now, as a new member of an exciting campus life, Hjalmar started classes for a BSc in Physics at the end of January.

Heinrich said they decided Hjalmar should attend Tuks because it offered the best options in his field of interest: theoretical physics and astrophysics.

“He is adapting quite well, I would say; he is part of a group of four students who have the same interests and hobbies, and they are just having a swell time on campus,” said Heinrich.

Heinrich said Hjalmar did not have any plans to get involved in extracurricular activities at the university just yet, as he wanted to find his feet and settle in a bit more.

Hjalmar will be 17 when he graduates from the University of Pretoria, making him one of the youngest graduates to enter the working market.

– Caxton News Service

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