Schoolgirl beats Einstein, Hawking in Mensa test

Not yet a teen, 12-year-old Rajgauri Pawar has demonstrated she is smarter than Albert Einstein or Professor Stephen Hawking.

The schoolgirl from Cheshire in Northern England scored a high 162 in the famous Mensa Intelligence Quotient (IQ) test.

She took the test in London and her score qualifies her for elite British Mensa membership of high IQ talents across the world.

Although Einstein never took the test, experts have said his score would be 160, the same score as Hawking.

A spokeswoman for British Mensa told Xinhua Tuesday: "Rajgauri's score of 162 certainly puts her at the top end of the top one percent of Mensa scores across the world."

To put her score into context, the Mensa benchmark needed to be considered a genius is set at 140, with only a few thousand people in the world ever exceeding the magical 160.

Rajgauri told local media in a Britain: "I was a little nervous before the test, but it was fine and I'm really pleased to have done so well."

Her father, Surajkumar Pawar said, "This wouldn't have been possible without the efforts of her teachers and the support which my daughter enjoys every day at school."

Her school, Altrincham Grammar School for Girls in South Manchester, is also very proud of Rajgauri for her incredible achievement.

Her maths teacher, Andrew Berry, said: "Everybody is delighted. She is a very well-liked student and we all expect great things from her."

Mensa is regarded as one of the most exclusive clubs in the world. The only way to join is to score in the top two percent on its infamous test.

Founded in 1946 in Oxford by Lancelot Lionel Ware and Roland Berrill, its mission is to identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity.