British-Pakistani boy sets new Pi challenge record in UK

LONDON: A five-year-old British-Pakistani boy has become the youngest and fastest Briton to recite numerical value of Pi decimal places.

Muhammad Ahmad Khan, who is a pupil at Horton Grange Primary School assembly, can recite the value of Pi to a whopping 104 decimal places in the quickest recorded time of 29 seconds.

The mathematical value of Pi is an infinite number - understanding Pi is as easy as counting to one, two, 3.1415926535 and so on.

Pi is used in maths, physics, space exploration and supercomputing-because its value can be used in calculations for circles, cylinders & waves. Pi is calculated by dividing a circle's circumference by its diameter.

The class 1 student from England achieved the challenge after performing the feat in his Horton Grange Primary School assembly to mark international Pi day.

The 5-year-old visited office of Geo News here in London to demonstrate his skills. His parents Muhammad Yasir Khan and Hina Gull said they were overjoyed at the achievement of their son. They said that their only child is usually a very quiet and shy boy, adding that he doesn't speak much in front of people.

The little whizz kid said that he likes playing with Lego, cars at home and likes to work on computer on codes and maths related games. He said maths was his favourite subject and he liked learning Pi challenge with help from his parents. “I also like space exploration. Blue cars are my favourite. I like playing computer games.”

Yasir Khan is from Karachi and Hina Gull is from Lahore. Gull is a Graduate from the London School of Economics (LSE) and Khan studied networking and computer programming. They initially lived in London but now they are permanently settled in Bradford.

Mr and Mrs Khan said that they took it in turns in helping Ahmad recall the Pi value in the fastest possible time. “He learnt it with ease but the challenge was to make sure that he actually performs before the audience. It can be nerve challenging for anyone but Ahmed was able to pull it off in his class. He showed a lot of confidence. We are so happy at this achievement “and “Very Proud of Ahmad”.

Dad Yasir Khan said he spotted his son’s liking for maths and he himself initially took interest in Pi challenge after coming across the same online. “I supported him and encouraged him to learn it. He has been learning the Pi challenge in his spare time. We are very proud of Ahmad & what he has achieved. Ahmad loves math at school & it was only fitting that he should take on his challenge considering maths is his favourite subject.”

Ahmad’s parents said they want the world to know about their son and his talent. They said that Ahmad is the youngest child in Britain to have reached this level. “The previous record is held by a boy was did the same aged 10. An Indian child has done the same challenge at a similar age but no other child in Britain has done that.”

The parents confirmed that they have sent the school certificates and other documents to World Pi Ranking List for verification and acceptance in the records books.