Joshua Beckford at 6 years old became the youngest person in the world to be admitted to the prestigious Oxford University. He also became the youngest to study Philosophy and History at the University of Oxford England.
Joshua Beckford was always destined for greatness. Even at a young age, he exhibited a flash of brilliance and maturity far beyond his age. When he was just six years old, he became the youngest person in the world to be admitted to Oxford University and his father is proud of his son.
Living with high-functioning autism, the African Giant child prodigy from Tottenham, England has proven all odds. He had received a certificate of excellence after getting distinctions in all his courses which were part of an online learning platform for gifted children.
At only thirteen years old, Beckford who was home-schooled due to being too advanced for a standard curriculum had been listed in the top thirty most remarkable people in the world with Autism and impacting society.
Much like the nine-year-old twins Peter and Paula Imafidon, who made history as the youngest people ever to pass the University of Cambridge’s advanced arithmetic test, Joshua is a genius among geniuses.
But Joshua Beckford has his father to thank for this incredible feat. At just 10 months old, Beckford’s father, Knox Daniel, discovered his son’s unique learning capability while he was sitting on his lap in front of the computer.
With the keyboard being the child’s interest, “I started telling [Joshua] what the letters on the keyboard were and I realized that he was remembering and could understand.” during an interview with Black Doctors
“So, if I told him to point to a letter, he could do it… Then we moved on to colours,” Daniel added.
Beckford is one smart cookie. He was never one to do things the conventional way. As a toddler, he learned to read fluently by phonics, and taught himself how to speak Japanese and type on a computer before he could even write. Needless to say, he was quite precocious!
“Since the age of four, I was on my dad’s laptop and it had a body simulator where I would pull out organs,” said Beckford.
Aside from his incredible academic achievements, Beckford also became something of an icon for the National Autistic Society’s Black and Minority campaign. Being one with high-functioning autism himself, the young child helped to highlight the challenges faced by autistic minorities across the country.
Despite his young age, Beckford has a lot of wisdom to share with the world and always eager to educate others about autism – and about how different people can be
Last month, the wonder child was appointed Low Income Families Education (L.I.F.E) Support Ambassador for Boys Mentoring Advocacy Network in Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya and the United Kingdom. (L.I.F.E) create educational opportunities for children from low-income families
When Joshua won The Positive Role Model Award for Age at The National Diversity Awards last year, it came as expected, he had been an inspiration to other young people and his story is one that proves that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. He is living proof that age is just a number, and that no matter how young or old you are, you can make a difference in the world.
But academics is not Joshua’s only focus; he also immersed himself in other aspects. He is working towards being a published author while being an advocate for children’s rights.
The young boy also raises funds for three autism charities (two in Africa and one in the U.K.) and is celebrated for his campaigns to save the environment. He recently wrote the poem Saving Mother Earth at the TEDx International Conference in Vienna.
Beckford also designs and delivers power-point presentations on Human Anatomy at Community fund-raising events to audiences ranging from 200 to 3,000 people, according to National Diversity Awards.
Joshua Beckford is also fascinated by Egypt. He had studied the ancient nation extensively and now writing a children’s book about it. He is also working to become a neurosurgeon.
