Belgian-Dutch prodigy obtains bachelors degree at the age of 11
11-year-old Laurent Simons has completed a bachelor's degree in physics at the University of Antwerp with Latin honors. The Dutch-Belgian boy wonder finished the 3-year degree program in just one year, ANP reported.
When he was 8 years old, Simons obtained his gymnasium diploma at the Sint-Jozef Humaniora in Bruges in 18 months. The child prodigy is now looking to pursue his master's degree in physics at the Flemish university.
Simons became notorious for starting primary school as a two-year-old and enrolling at the gymnasium at the age of six. A year and a half later he started studying electrical engineering at the Eindhoven University of Technology.
He didn’t complete the program at TU Eindhoven due to the breach of trust that arose between the boy’s parents and the school. At the time, Simons was on track to become the youngest university graduate ever, but the university thought it was unrealistic to let him graduate before his tenth birthday.
Simons’ parents also considered sending him to study in Israel or the US, but eventually decided that he should complete his studies at the third largest university in Flanders.
