Child Genius

Earlier this year, 21 highly gifted children aged seven to 11 were selected to take part in a competition run in association with British Mensa, to find the UK's ultimate child genius. Alongside their home lives, the series charts the progress of some of these extraordinary children through the course of the competition. There is eight-year-old Josh, a chess prodigy whose mum Hilary has a grand plan to put 10,000 hours into making him a grandmaster by the age of 13. Ten-year-old Hugo is an outspoken trainspotter who gets frustrated by those who aren't as clever as him. And there is also Shrinidhi, the current World U-12 Scrabble champion, whose passion for words and all things literary extends to her favourite treat, which is sniffing old books.

Mild-mannered nine-year-old maths machine Oscar, who became the youngest person ever to get an A* in GCSE Maths aged seven, is a competition favourite but, away from the familiarity of maths, how will he fare in the unknown territory of this week's general knowledge round? Eleven-year-old Seyonne is one of seven from a family of high achievers, whose mum Maria expects her daughter to make the best of her education - something she herself failed to do. Meanwhile, 10-year-old engineering enthusiast Hugo believes he has enough raw intelligence to breeze through this week's competition, but his confident personality is starting to upset some of his rivals. Eleven-year-old Leonard Ravi Shankar Buckley has the vocabulary of an 18-year-old, but his tendency for theatrics often means he loses focus at the crucial moment. And human abacus Rosa Maria may be faster than a calculator at maths, but with her study regime in tatters on the big day will she be able to overcome her nerves?

It's the Spelling Bee round in the child genius competition. Has rebellious Hugo's lack of effort finally caught him out? Will human dictionary Ben's love of long words help him sail through, or has he met his match with Scrabble champion Shrinidhi? Aged nine, Connor is the youngest contender still in the competition. Despite intending to take his maths GCSE while still in primary school, he's less confident when faced with mind-boggling spellings such as triskaidekaphobia, extemporaneous or even ovoviviparous! But single mum Sarah is determined to get him through. Sibling rivals Catherine and Matthew entered the competition together, but with Matthew a surprise exit in the first round, it's big sister Catherine's chance to show her mum she's just as bright as her brother. And 10-year old Longyin is on a school trip to Dartmoor, but will his first time away from dad Terence affect his meticulously planned study schedule and ruin his success in the competition?

The final six go head to head in a debating contest, hoping to make it through to the last quick-fire round and the chance to be crowned Child Genius of the Year 2013. Eleven-year-old author and world Scrabble champion Shrinidhi may have mastered the written word, but the spoken word fills her with fear. Will a meeting with her biggest idol, Countdown's Susie Dent, help her confidence? Can maths prodigy Oscar, who got an A* in his GCSE aged seven, find an algorithm that helps win arguments? With his photographic memory, nine-year-old Connor has reached the final with ease. But winning a debate requires him to think on his feet, a skill which doesn't come naturally. Connor's taking on nine-year-old Lara, who has an IQ higher than Einstein. While Rohan's parents believe a triumph in the debate could help win a coveted scholarship to Harrow.