Mahnoor Cheema, an 18-year-old British-Pakistani prodigy, has made global academic history by completing 24 A-Level subjects with top distinctions, setting four new world records and bringing her total to six — the highest ever achieved by a secondary school student. She will now join the University of Oxford to study Medicine.
Her latest records include:
-
Most individual A-Level subjects taken and passed with distinction through one exam board without repeats — 24 subjects plus an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ).
-
Highest number of top grades in A-Levels, earning 19 A* and A grades.
-
Most combined A grades* in secondary education worldwide — 45 in total, combining 11 A* grades in A-Levels with her previous 34 in GCSEs/O Levels.
-
Most individual subjects passed with distinction — 58 overall, including 24 A-Levels and 34 GCSEs.
In 2023, at just 16, Mahnoor set two earlier records by passing 34 GCSE subjects, 17 of them with A* grades in Year 10 alone.
Speaking to Geo News from her home in Langley, West London, Mahnoor called her Oxford offer “a childhood dream fulfilled,” crediting her parents’ sacrifices for her success.
Born in Lahore to Barrister Usman Cheema and Tayyaba Cheema, Mahnoor moved to the UK in 2006 and attended prestigious schools before homeschooling for her final year. She has also met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and former PM Nawaz Sharif, who lauded her as “the daughter of the nation.”
Beyond academics, Mahnoor holds an AMusTCL diploma in music, gold medals in acting and public speaking from LAMDA, and is a member of Mensa. She completed her EPQ in just 10 days, scoring a perfect 100%.
