Mensa welcomes six-year-old girl

Chloe underwent a series of tests before being accepted into Mensa

A six-year-old girl with an IQ of 138 has become the youngest current member of Mensa.

Chloe Bennion, from Wednesfield, West Midlands, has joined the organisation for the UK's most intelligent people.

The youngster is one of only 26 members in the 27,000-strong club under the age of 10.

Spokeswoman Caroline Garbett said: "It is more of a hurdle to get into Mensa under the age of 10 because we don't test children under that age."

But Ms Garbett said Chloe underwent tests set by a child psychologist which demonstrated her intelligence and she was accepted on that basis.

Challenging tasks

Chloe is not the youngest member to have joined Mensa.

In 1997, Dineshi Nirgunananthan, from Hanworth, west London, was accepted when she was just three with an IQ of 158.

Chloe's mother Trudy, 24, said she and her husband Stuart, a 29-year-old draughtsman, were amazed by the youngster's achievement.

"We're still trying to take it all, really," said Mrs Bennion, a dinner lady.

"She knows she's cleverer than the other children in the class but doesn't show off about it.

"But she knows she's more clever than her mum."

'Normal child'

The couple, who also have a four-year-old son Lewis, were encouraged to take her to an education psychologist when she was five to ensure that she was ready to face more challenging tasks after she began outstripping other pupils.

Chloe was given a series of general reading and writing tests which established she had a high IQ.

Mr and Mrs Bennion then contacted Mensa, which is based in nearby Wolverhampton, which accepted the youngster as a member shortly after her sixth birthday in December last year.

Mrs Bennion said: "We're really delighted for her, but she is just like any normal child.

"She loves going to dancing classes and she says she wants to be a nurse when she's older."