Boy, 11, is Countdown champ
AN 11-year-old math and word genius is currently seeing off the opposition on Channel 4's quiz show Countdown.
Brainbox Kai Laddiman, a pupil at Heathfield Community Technology College, has been a fan of the show since he was two.
During his first appearance he scored 93 points, beating teacher James Bruce with 64.
Then he trounced salesman Jeff Francis by 95 points to 86 and taxi driver Bill Franklin, 95 to 61.
The rollercoaster went on with a 91 score over retired customs and excise officer Don Walker's 68.
He proved unbeatable with 89 against research chemist Alex Gaywood, 56 points, and 97 against singer Zachery Stephenson who scored just 56.
Kai, from Broad Oak, said: 'Everyone else was older but I wasn't nervous at all.
'I got an extra cushion to prop me up on the chair so the cameras could see me over the desk.
'It made the seat a lot more comfortable so I wasn't complaining.'
Examples of questions usually faced by contestants in their 50s and 60s included making an eight letter word from the letters A D E E I M T O N which Kai rearranged to make 'dominate'.
Her also cracked a conundrum comprising the letters T E M P L E C O D - answering within 30 seconds that it could be switched around to make 'completed'.
Kai said: 'I just concentrated hard and did my best. I enjoy the Countdown letter games, such as the conundrums, the most.
'Numbers are a bit trickier but I wouldn't say they're difficult either.'
In spite of his young age he recently won a B-grade in AS-level maths.
He has three younger brothers, Callum, Harry and Max.
Parents Naomi and Tim say he has always been a bright young thing - he was moved up a year in primary school.
He learnt his letters and numbers from watching Countdown.
Tim told the Express: 'He was always beating me at Scrabble. People said, "Oh you let him win". Oh no! I was losing by one hundred plus.'
Kai's ambition is to become either a footballer, an inventor or a singer – or maybe all three.
He also wants to become a member of MENSA.
Naomi said: 'We are just so proud of him.'
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Tuesday 07 February 2012
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