Girl, 12, with an IQ higher than Einstein is crowned Britain’s brightest youngster after smashing the competition in front of her adoring Sri Lankan parents – and viewers are left in awe following her ‘feminist’ acceptance speech
Nsihi Uggalle, 12, from Manchester, was crowned Britain’s brightest child on Channel 4’s Child Genius. Her father Neelanga works in IT security and her mother Shiromi is an accountant.
- Nishi Uggalle, 12, from Manchester won Channel Four’s Child Genius last night
- Series saw Britain’s brightest youngsters compete to be named cleverest child
- Explained she was keen to dispel stereotypes that girls are not good at maths
- Viewers were ‘gobsmacked’ as she correctly spelled the word neurohypophysis
A 12-year-old girl with an IQ higher than Einstein was crowned the winner of Channel 4’s Child Genius 2019 on Saturday after impressing with her exceptional spelling.
Dubbed the ‘human calculator,’ Nishi Uggalle, from Manchester, who attends a top grammar school, correctly spelled the word neurohypophysis to run away with the title.
Her Sri Lankan parents Neelanga Uggalle, who works in IT security and is a Vice President in Barclays Bank, and her mother Shiromi Jayasinghe who works as an accountant, watched on from the audience.
The Stephen Hawking superfan inspired viewers with her feminist attitude, and used her acceptance speech to celebrate women in science, technology, engineering and mathematic subjects.
‘I was clapping when Nishi won,’ enthused one viewer. ‘So deserved, self-motivated and excellent,’ while another added: ‘I sat gobsmacked watching Nishi on Child Genius. She was wonderful. Well done to her.’
Nishi Uggalle, 12, from Manchester, was crowned Britain’s brightest child last night and widely praised for her acceptance speech, in which she said she wanted to prove girls could do mathematics
She ‘gobsmacked’ viewers as she went head-to-head with fellow competitor William, 11 in a lightning buzzer round
Viewers said the Stephen Hawking was ‘wonderful’ and ‘magic’, after she took the Child Genius trophy
In the first round of the final last night, Nishi achieved an incredible score of 16 out of 20, and flew through to the head-to-head nail-biting finale.
Cheered on by her parents, she competed against 11-year-old William Harwood.
It featured a quick fire buzzer round which included questions across an array of topics including science, mathematics and spelling.
While her competitor’s were behind on a score of five, Nishi reached the vital 10 point-mark first by spelling the word neurohypophysis – meaning she was crowned this year’s Child Genius.
Nishi stunned viewers with her ‘human calculator’ style and lifted the trophy after dominating the final round of the competition
The Child Genius winner was cheered on through each stage by her Sri Lankan parents. Neelanga Uggalle (left) works in IT security and is a Vice President in Barclays Bank, while her mother Shiromi Jayasinghe works as an accountant
Pictured, 12-year-old Nishi constantly surprises her father Neelanga Uggalle with her knowledge. Above, she can be seen teaching him the theory of quantum physics
And she followed her win with an inspiring acceptance speech that touched heart’s across the nation. Explaining her reason for entering the intelligence competition, the genius told the audience:
‘It’s been really incredible and William put up an incredible fight. One of the main reasons I entered myself in the competition was to show that there are a lot of stereotypes about girls not being able to do maths or physics for example,’ she began. ‘I’d like to show that that’s not true at all.
And viewers were stunned by the little girl’s attitude. ‘You’re a star and inspiration to all young girls!’ one commended the youngster. ‘Some of the other contestants could have learned from your humanity.’
Another simply penned: ‘Bravo Nishi absolutely deserved. As you’ve proved – this girl can.’
Hundreds of children applied from across the UK, with a total of 19 appearing across the Channel 4 programme.
When Nishi initially put herself forward for the competition, her parents admitted: ‘I don’t think we call ourselves pushy parents simply because I think Nishi is the pushy one.’
But the determined youngster declared: ‘I’m going to show girls they can win things and do anything they want to,’ the young girl said as she started the process.
And she did just that as the well-deserved praise for the 12-year-old continued late into the evening.
‘Awesome Nishi – well done – and a really positive message about women in STEM in your acceptance speech’ penned one, while another wrote:
‘Nishi is a star, doing it for the northerners and the girls and doing it off her own back. It was so refreshing to see her passion for physics. What a future she has ahead of her.’
The contest, open to children aged from eight to 12, has aired every night this week, culminating in the grand final with competitors challenged on spelling, maths, memory, vocabulary, geography and science.
