ROMANIA

 Comments (2)THE cleverest person in Dover is an 11-year-old Romanian who lives in the Gateway flats.Mihail Iulian Barascu, who speaks perfect English, is in fact in the top one per cent of the UK’s brainiest people.

The child genius recently applied to be in Mensa and got an IQ score of 162 – higher than that of Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking.

Creative whizz Iulian, who is happiest when at his computer and has just started writing a novel, said: “It’s not that I don’t like reality – but it can be boring sometimes.”

The 36-year-old priest and teacher, who invited the Express to their seafront flat last week, said: “When he’s doing something he likes to skip steps because he can get to the end so quickly.

“We are too big-headed, both of us. Sometimes it’s not easy.”

And while Mr Barascu is talking, Iulian clearly becomes impatient and even asks to check what his dad has said.

But Mr Barascu, who moved his family to the UK in 2009, said: “At the end of the day, he’s a very good child. I don’t want to push him too hard.”

Iulian spoke out about overly pushy parents when he auditioned for Channel 4’s Child Genius show – and believes this is why he did not make the final cut.

He said: “I was pretty harsh. But I don’t regret it – somebody needed to say it.”

Iulian is only “pushed” to play basketball and get involved at drama club. You are unlikely to find him pouring over Plato or Aristotle after school.

He said: “I always relax when I’m at home. I barely do any work. I’m just lazy sometimes.”

But it is obvious that his mind never stops working. In little under two hours he explains how the universe began (he disagrees with Stephen Hawking), and why the chicken came before the egg.

And when you ask Iulian a question, it is as if he immediately crafts a 500-word answer in his head. If you interrupt, he will return to finish what he is saying.

So, how well does this lad, who dreams of becoming an architect and would rather go on holiday to Versailles than Parc Asterix, get on with other 11-year-olds?

Iulian, who started at St Mary’s Primary a few months ago, said: “I found making friends hard at first but then, you know, I have people to play with and stuff.”

Like a lot of youngsters, Iulian likes “weird things”. He said: “There’s this man who stuck 600 pins all over his face. I like to see how far the human body can go – to see how far things can be pushed to their extremes.”

Does he ever push his parents too far? His mum Gabriela, 40, said: “He’s got so much imagination. Sometimes it’s too much. We say, ‘slow down!'”

But they always knew they had an exceptional child. Dover dentist Mrs Barascu remembers how she would be singing and her son, aged two, would finish the song with his own lyrics.

It is this ability to logically think things through to an appropriate conclusion – rather than being able to work out 26 times 39 on the spot – which is his strength.

So what does Iulian, set to start at Dover Grammar School for Boys in September, think of his adopted hometown?

He said: “It’s not very colourful. You need something fun.”

And with Burlington House – and this lad’s mental prowess – towering over us, who are we to argue?