The school frustrated him because he felt he was wasting his time, so he decided to study from home. Thus, Laurent Simons, with only 8 years of age, finished in 18 months secondary education, when the normal thing in his country of residence (Holland) is six years. This child, the son of a Belgian father and a Dutch mother, has attracted the attention of the media in Belgium, the country where he was born.
Laurent Simons | Photo: EBU
In an interview with the RTBF network , Simons himself explained his boredom in classes and why he chose to study from the comfort of home. “Sometimes my colleagues took too long to respond, so I answered instead,” he said. On the other hand, his parents stated that the child has an IQ of 145, and that from the beginning they realized that he was different from the rest of his peers, since he did not show interest in toys and had a hard time relating to children of his age.
Among other features of Simons, European media reported that at six years he had read the entire saga of Harry Potter and that currently, in addition to Dutch, speaks French and German. Little Laurent is now enjoying vacations in the northern hemisphere and is expected to enter the university in September.
As he said, he loves mathematics, but does not know if the career he will choose for his higher education will be related to that subject. At the moment, he said that he would like to be a surgeon, or maybe an astronaut or perhaps a computer scientist. “If he decides to become a carpenter tomorrow, that would not be a problem for us, as long as he is happy,” said his parents.
