The test, and the number
British Mensa admits candidates who score in the top two per cent of the population on a supervised test. The paper used for younger candidates has a ceiling of 162, which is why the same figure recurs in every story of this kind: 162 does not mean a measured intelligence of 162 so much as a score at the top of the scale the test can report.
Kent Online reported on 26 March 2025 that Kot Arcuri had reached that ceiling, and that she had done so without preparation. The Good News Network picked the story up five days later. Both are careful about the same point: the score is the result of one supervised sitting, not a running assessment.
The Einstein comparison
The headlines placed her above Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking. That comparison is a convention of British local news rather than a measurement. Neither man is recorded in these sources as having sat an IQ test; the figure of about 160 attached to them is an estimate that circulates without a source document behind it.
What can be said precisely is narrower and still remarkable: a 13-year-old scored at the top of a supervised adult-standard test on her first attempt, with no coaching.
Kings Hill, and a family of teachers
She is a grammar school pupil in Kings Hill, and her mother, Cecylia Kot Arcuri, is named in the coverage. Her grandfather, Antoni Kot, was a Polish head teacher and mathematician, which places a mathematics teacher two generations back in the family.
Outside the test, the reported interests are ballet, piano and coding, and her stated ambition at the time was computer science. That combination is the part of the profile least likely to appear in a headline and most likely to describe what she actually does with her time.
What a Mensa score does and does not buy
Mensa membership is a threshold, not a prize. It confers no funding, no school place and no academic standing; it confirms that a candidate scored in the top two per cent on one test on one day, and it opens a membership society.
The reason these stories run at all is that they are rare in a specific sense: thousands of children sit the test each year, and only a small number reach the paper's ceiling. That is the claim worth repeating about Sofia Kot Arcuri, and it is the only one the sources support.
Venti domande, otto minuti di orologio e un percentile misurato su tutti quelli che l’hanno fatto. Senza registrazione.
Fai il test del QI →What is documented and what is not
Documented: a score of 162, the maximum available on the test she sat, achieved at 13 without preparation; membership of Mensa from March 2025; her school type and home town in Kent; her mother's name; her grandfather's career in Poland; and her stated interest in computer science.
Not documented here: her date of birth, her school's name, her academic results, and anything since March 2025. She is a child, and this page carries only what the press published with her family's participation.
| Persona | Paese | Traguardo | Età / Dato |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lawson Lundberg | Stati Uniti | Iscrizione al Mensa a 3 anni | Età 3 |
| Nishi Uggalle | Regno Unito | Vittoria del programma Child Genius di Channel 4 nel 2019 | Età 10 |
| Sofia Kot Arcuri | Regno Unito | Punteggio massimo di 162 al test Mensa a 13 anni | Età 13 |
| David Camacho | Messico | Selezionato per un programma junior della NASA, 2024 | — |
| Sharvin Jeyendran | Australia | Un test Mensa gli ha assegnato 168, e i titoli di giornale lo hanno messo sopra Stephen Hawking | — |
What is documented — and what is not
✓ Documented
- Scored 162 on the Mensa test at 13, the maximum available on that paper
- Sat the test without preparation and joined Mensa in March 2025
- Grammar school pupil in Kings Hill, Kent
- Mother Cecylia Kot Arcuri; grandfather Antoni Kot was a Polish head teacher and mathematician
? Unverified, disputed or wrong
- Date of birth is not published; the birth year here is derived from her reported age
- The Einstein and Hawking comparison in headlines is not supported by any test record
- Nothing after March 2025 is documented in these sources
Questions people ask about Sofia Kot Arcuri
What is Sofia Kot Arcuri's IQ?
Kent Online reported a score of 162, the highest the Mensa paper allows for an under-18 candidate. It is a test score, not a measured ceiling.
How old is Sofia Kot Arcuri?
She was reported as 13 in March 2025. No date of birth appears in these sources.
Did she prepare for the test?
The reporting says she sat it with no preparation.
Is her score really higher than Einstein's?
The comparison is a headline convention. No source here records Einstein or Hawking sitting an IQ test; the figures attached to them are estimates.
Where does she live?
Kings Hill in Kent, where she attends a grammar school.
What does she want to study?
Computer science, according to the 2025 coverage. Her other reported interests are ballet, piano and coding.
Is Sofia Kot Arcuri on Wikipedia?
No Wikipedia article is recorded for her. The Kent Online report is the primary reference.
Quick quiz: how well do you know Sofia’s story?
What score did Sofia Kot Arcuri achieve?
What is 162 on that Mensa paper?
What subject did she say she was aiming for?
Sources
- Kings Hill girl, 13, with higher IQ test score than Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking joins Mensa — Kent Online, 2025-03-26
- Girl Joins Mensa at 13 After Scoring Higher Than Albert Einstein - Even with No Exam Prep — Good News Network, 2025-03-31
Checked by the Geniuses.club editorial team. Ages are given as of September 2026.
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