Alexander Faludy

Alexander Faludy (born 1983), an English student, is a former child prodigy who in 1998 became the youngest undergraduate at the University of Cambridge since 1773.

Life

The son of two teachers from Portsmouth, in 1995 Faludy gained a scholarship to Milton Abbey School, a boarding school in Dorset where one third of the children are dyslexic, after being bullied at his county school in Portsmouth.[1][2]

In 1996, with his mother, he published A Little Edge of Darkness, telling how at the age of nine he was the youngest person ever to pass the English Literature GCSE and at the age of eleven the youngest to pass an A-level, despite suffering from severe dyslexia.[3]

In August 1998, Faludy's parents lost a battle in the High Court of Justice which sought to force Portsmouth City Council to assess their son for special educational needs.[2] However, the council announced it would help him financially through its Student Awards system, with money for books and specialist equipment and with a disability student award grant to pay for a personal helper.[4] The case was said to be "based on a deep misunderstanding of which grants disabled students can access".[5]

In October 1998, when he joined Peterhouse at the age of 15 years and 7 months, Faludy became the youngest undergraduate at the University of Cambridge since the arrival there of William Pitt the Younger in 1773.[4][6] He was reported to have all the books he needed read for him on audiotape and to dictate his essays.[7] When admitted to Cambridge, he could write only two illegible words a minute and also suffered from developmental coordination disorder.[2]

In 1999, TES reported that Faludy "can barely write his name or peel a banana but can expound at length on the rationalist argument for God".[1] In 2000, while studying art history and theology at Peterhouse, Faludy received a prize of £100 as best arts journalist in the Cambridge Student Journalism Awards.[8]

Faludy was ordained to the Diaconate in Newcastle Cathedral on 29 June 2008, to serve as assistant Curate of St Paul's Church, Cullercoats. In 2011 he became assistant curate in the Willington Team. As of 2014 he is the priest in charge of St. John the Evangelist, Wallsend.[9]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Elaine Williams (29 October 1999). "A household word defined". TES Magazine (tes.co.uk).
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Cathy Comerford and Nicole Veash (26 August 1998). "Dyslexic boy loses court fight for aid". The Independent (independent.co.uk).
  3. ↑ "Summary of A Little Edge of Darkness (Faludy, Alexander & Faludy, Tanya, Jessica Kingsley Publishers Ltd, 1996)". Students Who Learn Differently (studentswholearn.fawco.org).
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Dyslexic boy wins Cambridge funding". BBC News (news.bbc.co.uk). 28 August 1998. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
  5. ↑ "Confusion and Fear: The Real Outcome of the Faludy Case". Local Government Chronicle (lgcplus.com). 28 August 1998.
  6. ↑ Michael Smith (29 September 1998). "Dyslexic boy, 15, makes early start at Cambridge". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 28 November 2002.
  7. ↑ "Who Is Dyslexic?". channel4.com. May 2002.
  8. ↑ "Faludy now a scribbler". Times Higher Education Supplement (timeshighereducation.co.uk). 30 June 2000.
  9. ↑ "Petrean News" (PDF). Petreans (petreans.net). Spring 2009.