Elijah Motey Now: The Nova Scotia Boy Who Joined Mensa at 6

Biography

What happened

CBC News reported in June 2025 that Elijah had been accepted into Mensa International, the society for people who score in the top two per cent on an approved intelligence test, and that about 50 Nova Scotians belong to it.

The route in was indirect, because Mensa administers its own test only to people aged 14 and over. His parents arranged an assessment by a psychologist, and those results were submitted to Atlantic Mensa, the regional branch. No score has been published, and this page does not supply one.

Fridge magnets and three times tables

His mother, Mercy Mutale Motey, dates the first signs to around his second birthday. He was spelling complicated words with magnetic letters on the fridge, and working through multiplication aloud: three, six, nine, twelve. “He would be doing three times tables,” she told CBC. “He was like two years old. It was just remarkable.”

As a toddler he taught himself to read and write. His father, Delali Motey, said the acceptance did not surprise the family. Given what they had watched him do with numbers, he said, they were confident.

What his parents say about it

The family's reaction, as CBC recorded it, was pride mixed with disbelief. “We are so proud, we’re so excited,” his mother said. “I think we are still in shock.”

She also made a point about the work involved that is easy to miss in stories like this. What she emphasised was parental advocacy: the arranging, the asking and the pushing that gets a young child assessed at all. Her description of him is not about scores. “He is so enthusiastic about the things he enjoys,” she said.

A six-year-old's own list

Asked what he likes, Elijah gave an answer that is entirely six. Mathematics, for solving questions. Gym, for running around. The library, for reading.

He attends an elementary school run by the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial, the French-language school board in Nova Scotia, which means his schooling is conducted in a language other than the one his early reading began in. Nothing else about his day-to-day life is published, and nothing else belongs in a public page about a six-year-old.

What Mensa membership does and does not mean

Mensa is a society, not a qualification. Its single criterion is a score at or above the 98th percentile on an approved test, and membership confers access to other members rather than any academic standing. For a child, the practical value is usually social: a route to people who share an unusual appetite.

The assessment route matters too. A psychologist's evaluation of a six-year-old is a clinical instrument designed to describe how that child is developing, and its results are not directly comparable to the paper an adult sits in a hall. Scores obtained this young are also less stable than adult scores, because a small child's performance on any test is affected by attention, mood and the day. That is the professional consensus, and it is why the more durable part of this record is the behaviour his parents describe rather than any number: a two-year-old who multiplied for pleasure.

Where Elijah Motey is now

The record stops in June 2025, when the acceptance was reported. He was six, in school in Bedford, newly a member of Mensa.

No later reporting was used for this page, and no test score, school year or family detail beyond what his parents told CBC is documented here. For a child this young, the absence is appropriate rather than regrettable.

Achievement Timeline

Elijah Kodzo Motey — every milestone on this page, placed by age.

c. 2021

At about two, spells complex words witAt about two, spells complex words with fridge magnets and recites three times tables

As a toddler

Teaches himself to read and writeTeaches himself to read and write

2025

Assessed by a psychologist, with resulAssessed by a psychologist, with results submitted to Atlantic Mensa

June 2025

CBC reports his acceptance into Mensa CBC reports his acceptance into Mensa International at six, among about 50 Nova Scotian members

Historical Comparison

Person	Country	Milestone	Age / Stat
Elijah Kodzo Motey	Canada	Accepted into Mensa International at six	Age 2
Jadon Prieto	United States	Joining American Mensa at seven	Age 2
Ali Aldalawy	Canada	Accepted into Mensa International at four	Age 4
Arjun Bithal	United Kingdom	He had been taking IQ tests in secret. His parents only found out when the	Age 11
Cyrus Leung	United Kingdom	He scored two points off the maximum. His father entered him to help him f	Age 12

What is documented — and what is not

✓ Documented

Accepted into Mensa International at six, among about 50 Nova Scotian members (CBC News, June 2025)
Assessed by a psychologist because Mensa tests only from age 14, with results sent to Atlantic Mensa
Recited three times tables and spelled with fridge magnets at about two, per his mother (CBC)

? Unverified, disputed or wrong

No IQ score has been published
No date of birth published
No reporting on him after June 2025

Questions people ask about Elijah Kodzo Motey

How old is Elijah Motey?

He was six when CBC reported his Mensa acceptance in June 2025, placing his birth around 2019. No date of birth is published.

What is Elijah Motey's IQ?

No score has been published. CBC reports that he was assessed by a psychologist and that the results were submitted to Atlantic Mensa.

How can a six-year-old join Mensa?

Mensa only administers its own test from age 14. Younger applicants can submit the results of an assessment carried out by a qualified psychologist.

What could he do as a toddler?

According to his mother, he spelled complex words with fridge magnets and recited three times tables at about two, and taught himself to read and write.