"It doesn't really tend to take up a lot of time."
Despite taking 28 A-Levels, Mahnoor Cheema has insisted that she still has plenty of spare time.
The 17-year-old from Slough caused a stir on social media when it was revealed that she is studying for over two dozen A-Levels.
Mahnoor called for more support for gifted pupils after she admitted teachers struggle to keep up with her.
After achieving 34 GCSEs, Mahnoor has a full schedule managing her coursework and exam preparation alongside various extracurricular activities.
Even though she has a vast amount of schoolwork, Mahnoor stated that she still has a social life as she manages her workload.
Appearing on Radio 4’s Today programme, Mahnoor said:
“It doesn’t really tend to take up a lot of time.”
She explained that her “study co-partner” is her mother Tayyaba Cheema.
“My study co-partner is my mum and her policy has always been that we take one subject at a time and we tackle that in however long it takes, then we move on to the next one.”
Mahnoor Cheema went on to say that her mother instilled a “deep passion” for learning and books into her.
On why she decided to take 28 A-Levels, the teenager said:
“I just didn’t want to narrow down my choices, and I think if I had done four A-Levels I would have been very dissatisfied with the academic challenge provided to me, so I just decided to go that extra mile.”
She is studying four A-Levels at London’s Henrietta Barnett School’s sixth form. She then completes her extra studies at home.
Since starting sixth form, Mahnoor has already completed four A-Levels.
The rest of the qualifications will be spread out over two years.
Among her extra A-Levels are two maths courses, three languages, three variations of history, economics, business, computer science and film studies.
Speaking about what she does in her spare time, Mahnoor said:
“My parents have always made sure I’m not so academically focused that I forget to have a social life and extracurriculars.
“So I play the piano, I do chess, I do swimming, I go out with my friends.”
Mahnoor, who moved back to the UK from Pakistan when she was nine, is also a member of the exclusive Mensa.
As she completes her studies, Mahnoor wants to gain a place at Oxford University or Imperial College.
She hopes to train as a doctor and focus her studies on the brain.
Mahnoor Cheema explained: “I was always fascinated by my own brain, by how the brain makes people tick, emotions, memory processing.
“So neuroscience and neurosurgery is an interest of mine.
“I think I just have a good memory, it’s my biggest tool, I tend to read and process things quite quickly and I’m good at scanning text.
“My mum invested in a lot of brain-building activities when I was young, like arithmetic, chess, classical music. Mum really is a role model and inspiration for me.”
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