Walsall maths genius Esther Okade starts university degree, aged TEN

19:05, 22 FEB 2015
BY ALISON STACEY

Walsall youngster divides her time between dolls and degree

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Esther Okade loves nothing more than studying maths

Mini maths marvel Esther Okade has started at university degree at the tender age of ten.

The Walsall youngster is dividing her time between playing with her dolls and studying for an Open University maths degree.

But it should add up to success for numbers whizz Esther who became an undergraduate three weeks ago.

And her little brother Isiah may potentially follow her - for he is studying for A-level maths at the age of six.

Esther’s mother, Efe, who home schools her, said: “She is doing so well.

“She took a test recently and scored 100 per cent.”

Esther completed months of tests and interviews before being accepted on to the course. Her aim is to get a First Class honours degree in two years and then set her sights on a PHD.

And eventually Esther, who loves watching Disney hit Frozen when she’s not studying, wants to run her own bank.

Efe said applying to the university was “an interesting process because of her age.”

She said: “We even had to talk to the Vice Chancellor.

“After they interviewed her they realised that this has been her idea from the beginning.

Watch Esther talk about her love of maths

“From the age of seven Esther has wanted to go to university.

“But I was afraid it was too soon.

“She would say, ‘Mum, when am I starting?’, and go on and on and on.

“Finally, after three years she told me, ‘Mum I think it is about time I started university now.”

Esther applied in August, and after a phone interview, an essay and a maths exam, she finally got the news in December that she had been accepted onto the course.

“She was flying,” said Efe. “She was so happy.”

“She is doing so well. She took a test recently and scored 100 per cent.

“Esther talks about running her own bank one day,” added Efe. “She has a lot of plans, and talks a lot about finances.

“She says she wants to be a millionaire.

“Isiah is following in his sister’s footsteps. He is doing Calculus and advanced algebra.

“Even when he was in my tummy Esther was already teaching him.”

• Esther is among the youngest children to ever go to university in the UK.

In 1981 Ruth Lawrence, from Brighton, became the youngest person to pass the Oxford exam at 10 years old.

She graduated in 1985 at the age of 13 with a first class degree in Mathematics.

“We had heard about Ruth, but we felt that it would be better for Esther to do her course at home.

“Perhaps when she turns 18 she can go to university with her peers and get the most out of it.

“But for now we want her to enjoy her childhood as well as her maths.”

RELATED : EDUCATION, WALSALL

Birmingham busker who terrorised teenage rival gets suspended jail sentence

21:00, 27 OCT 2015
BY ROSS MCCARTHY

Anthony Scott targeted Demi Marriner, 18, after city centre pitch row

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A Birmingham busker who launched a terrifying campaign against a teenage musician after accusing her of stealing his pitch has avoided a jail sentence.

Anthony Scott, 45, threatened to chop off the fingers of Demi Marriner, 18, after confronting her in the city centre.

Birmingham magistrates chairwoman Catherine Taylor said: “The contents of the messages, the texts and the on-line abuse was particularly nasty and offensive and threatening.

“There were other messages from other people supporting your abuse and others making threats and the victim was very young.”

She said that the abuse clearly had a detrimental effect on the victim’s life.

But in sentencing Scott to 24 weeks, suspended for 18 months, she said the bench had taken into account he was receiving help for mental health issues and that there was evidence of regret.

The busker, of Speedwell House, Hillmeads Road, Kings Norton, had previously been found guilty of harassment. He was also ordered to pay a criminal court charge of £1,000 and £200 costs.

Magistrates also made an indefinite restraining order, banning Scott from contacting Miss Marriner.

Jonathan Purser, prosecuting, said the teenager was aware of Scott through a mutual friend, although they had previously had a disagreement and had ended contact.

On May 4 this year Miss Marriner had gone to the city centre to busk but when she got to New Street found the defendant there.

She moved further down the street, but as she started her first song she was approached by Scott who started shouting, saying she had no right to be there - and he then spat on her amp.

“Over the following couple of days she started getting messages,’’ said Mr Purser. “They were abusive and accused her of stealing his pitch and demanding money he said that she owed him. As a result, she was somewhat alarmed, to put it mildly.”

The court heard the victim had been studying for her A-levels but because of the stress caused by the harassment she had failed to get sufficient points for her chosen university.

As a result, she’d had to go through the clearing process.

Mr Purser said even after Scot had been convicted he had continued to post “nasty” comments on his social media page, threatening to get revenge.

Shabana Sharif, defending, said: “He is a well known busker in Birmingham, well recognised within that community.”

She said what had happened had affected his health and that he had also received threats.

MPs argue over whether to print laws on the skin of dead goats

19:00, 27 OCT 2015
BY JONATHAN WALKER

Birmingham MP Gisela Stuart was part of a decision to stop printing laws on goatskin but another MPs is angry about the change

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Acts of Parliament are written on vellum, made from the goatskin

MPs are locked in a furious row over whether to end the centuries-old tradition of printing decisions of Parliament on goatskin.

Acts of Parliament are currently printed on vellum, a parchment made of treated animal skin, with one copy stored in the House of Lords and a second sent to the national archives.

While vellum is usually made from calfskin, Parliament uses parchment made from goats or sheep.

But the Commons Administration Committee, which includes Midland MPs Gisela Stuart (Lab Birmingham Edgbaston) and Michael Fabricant (Con Lichfield) has decided to end the practice to save money.

The MPs said the cost of producing vellum documents was more than £100,000 per year, and Parliament should switch to high quality “archival paper” instead.

The decision was condemned, however, by Conservative MP James Gray, who is a member of the Committee - but complained that his colleagues had chosen to back the change without him.

Gisela Stuart, MP for Birmingham Edgbaston

Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Gray complained: “I was, I have to admit, a few moments late for a meeting of the Committee . . . and was surprised to discover that a motion had been rushed through in the first few seconds of the meeting to change the means by which we record the Acts of Parliament from vellum, which has been used for 1,000 years or more, to paper.”

He said he urged MPs “to oppose what seems to me to be a disgraceful piece of heritage vandalism”.

Mrs Stuart said that using high-quality paper might not save as much money as expected, because archival paper would need to be stored in specially air-conditioned rooms.

Mrs Stuart said: “There will have to be a debate about it. I think there is going to be kerfuffle.

“Then we can have a proper discussion about whether the cost of using the vellum is more than the cost of providing air conditioning.”

Acts of Parliament dating back to 1497 recorded on vellum are currently held in the House of Lords Public Record Office.

An attempt was made to end the practice in 1999 - but MPs voted to keep vellum after a lively Commons debate.

RELATED : POLITICS

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Walsall maths genius Esther Okade starts university degree, aged TEN

19:05, 22 FEB 2015
BY ALISON STACEY