An incoming fresher has completed 23 A-Levels before securing her place at the University of Oxford.
Mahnoor Cheema sat for exams across a range of subjects, receiving a As and A*s across them all.
The 18-year-old grammar school pupil from Slough, Berkshire, has an IQ of 161, which is said to be higher than that of Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking.
via SWNS
She described Oxford as her “dream university” and she has received an unconditional offer from them to study medicine after her never before seen academic achievement for A-Level Results Day 2025.
Mahnoor had actually already secured four A-Levels with an A* grade in the first two months of sixth form.
Over sixth form she successfully studied and completed the subjects: Law, history, maths, further maths, physics, chemistry, biology, computer science, economics, English literature, classical civilisation, Latin, German, French, politics, business, psychology, sociology, geography, media studies, film studies, statistics and accounting.
Looking back on her record-breaking A-Level experience, Mahnoor said she has “no regrets” and believes she would feel “bored and understimulated” if she took three A-Levels like most students.
Mahnoor added: “I see burnout as a choice – its not burnout if you enjoy what you’re doing.
via SWNS
“Burnout is a big thing for some people, but I’m just motivated and driven, and it doesn’t affect me.”
She added: “I have loads of interests, that’s why I wanted to do so many subjects – it doesn’t take that much time or effort.”
Mahnoor was born in the UK before moving to Pakistan in 2010 and then returning in 2016. She successfully completed a total of 34 GCSEs in 2023, completing 17 in year 10 and an additional 17 in year 11.
This means she holds an additional academic record of 45 A* grades from her GCSEs and A-Levels combined.
Mahnoor credited her parents for her achievements, saying her success “belongs to my parents” and is not hers alone. Speaking about her parents, she added: “They left everything behind for my future, and I’m grateful every day for that”.
Her mother, Tayyaba Cheema, explained how Mahnoor was “quite different” in her childhood, taking on academic challenges such as reading all seven Harry Potter books by age six and memorising the entirety of the Oxford dictionary by age 11. Her mother created revision timetables to support Mahnoor’s studies and has emphasised she never pressured her daughter academically.
She added: “I have given her the choice, I just say ‘whatever you do in life, do it the best you can.’”
Mahnnoor switched to homeschooling in her final year of education to focus on studying for her exams.
She had previously experienced tension with her sixth form teachers due to her lesson absences in order to take exams, and they had previously pushed back on her desire to take 31 A levels, encouraging her to settle for 23.
Upon her success on results day, Mahnoor’s father, Usman Cheema, described her to as “the daughter of the Pakistani nation.”
He said he is “over the moon” that former political leaders in Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif and Shebaz Sharif, have acknowledged Mahnoor’s achievement. Usman highlighted how her achievement is a source of national pride for Pakistan, especially as the results came on Pakistan Independence Day (August 14th).
Featured image via SWNS
