12-year-old pupil in Solihull achieves A* in A-level maths

His parents said he "could count before he could speak"

Author: Amelia Salmons and Erin BottenPublished 13th Aug 2026

A 12-year-old who could “count before he could speak” has achieved an A* in A-level maths.

Dominic Pugaciauskas, a pupil at Solihull School, completed the A-level in just a year, scoring 100% in one of his papers.

He sat his maths GCSE last year, achieving a grade 9 aged 11.

Dominic said: “I feel really proud of myself to be honest. I feel like I’ve worked hard over the past years, and I feel that was a deserving result for me.”

His mother, Tanya Nikitina, said Dominic had been aiming to score a high grade, and the family were overwhelmed when they saw his result.

She said: “Opening the paper and checking the result, there was a great sense of happiness and a great sense of being proud of him.”

Ms Nikitina added her son had studied maths because he enjoyed it and “found a pleasure solving difficult problems”.

Dominic’s father, Rimas Pugaciauskas, said: “It’s well deserved, he studied so hard.”

Ms Nikitina said Dominic enjoyed problem-solving from a young age.

She told the Press Association: “I think he was born a mathematician. He showed interest in maths from the age of two. I think he started counting before he started to speak.”

Dominic studied for his A-level with Solihull School’s sixth-formers.

He said: “It wasn’t really a frightening experience. It was a friendly class.”

Dominic is now preparing to take part in national maths competitions in October and studying for his further maths A-level.

He said he does not know what he wants to do when he grows up, but added he “would probably expect” to go to Oxbridge.

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