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.
| 人物 | 国 | 節目 | 年齢 / 記録 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elijah Kodzo Motey | カナダ | 6歳でMensa Internationalに入会 | 2歳 |
| Jadon Prieto | 米国 | 7歳でアメリカMensaに入会 | 2歳 |
| Ali Aldalawy | カナダ | 4歳でMensa Internationalに入会 | 4歳 |
| Arjun Bithal | 英国 | IQテストを秘密裏に受けていた。両親が知ったのは | 11歳 |
| Cyrus Leung | 英国 | 満点まで2ポイントだった。父親が彼を助けるために | 12歳 |
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.
Who are his parents?
Mercy Mutale Motey and Delali Motey, both quoted by CBC. His mother described the family as still in shock at the news.
Where does he go to school?
An elementary school under the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial, the French-language school board in Nova Scotia.
Is Elijah Motey on Wikipedia?
No Wikipedia article on him was identified in the research behind this page.
What are his favourite subjects?
Mathematics, for solving questions; gym, for running around; and the library, for reading.
Quick quiz: how well do you know Elijah’s story?
How old was Elijah Motey when he joined Mensa?
Why was he assessed by a psychologist rather than by Mensa?
What was he doing at about age two?
Sources
- N.S. boy, 6, who just joined Mensa started multiplying as a toddler — CBC News, 2025-06-04
Checked by the Geniuses.club editorial team. Ages are given as of September 2026.
