A Cornish teenager has narrowly missed out on being named ‘Child Genius’ after already beating some of the cleverest children in the country to reach the final of the Channel 4 show.

Ben McGuire, who attends Nexus at Camborne Science and International Academy, was involved in a hard-fought head-to-head battle against fellow finalist William for a place in the ultimate round involving the final two.

The 13-year-old had already reached the final five, having led the field for much of the competition that originally saw 19 children battle it out.

Speaking after he was knocked out, in scenes broadcast this evening, Ben said: “I got to the final, which is just amazing. I’m definitely much cleverer than I originally thought I was.”

Having been high on the board leader board during most of the heats, Ben almost came unstuck in the semi-final yesterday, during the word and anagram round.

However, he managed to claw back a place in tonight’s final after managing to spell 12 obscure words in a row – a feat never achieved before in the history of Child Genius.

Ben, who wanted to enter the show to challenge himself, said at the start of this series: “I thought it would be fun and I thought I might meet some interesting people.”

Ben attends Nexus, Camborne Science and International Academy’s Centre of Excellence for able students. With a special interest in maths and science, he’s hoping for a career in ethical hacking.

Dr Jo Foster, director of Nexus, said: “We are very proud of Ben – it’s so inspiring to see one of our students competing with incredibly gifted young people from all over the country.”

Ben has many hobbies, including coding, video games and speed-solving Rubik’s cubes; his current record is just over 30 seconds. Ben will be competing in the World Cubing Association Welsh Open 2019 in March.

Ben enjoyed the experience of being a participant on Child Genius. “The other kids were great; we actually seemed to have a lot in common and we laughed a lot during the filming. One episode was so funny; Richard Osman couldn’t pronounce the Latin names and they had to keep cutting the filming so that he could get it right,” he said.

Ben hasn’t let his appearance in the show go to his head. He is still working hard at his studies, and helps out at school, for example volunteering to assist at the Easter STEM Camp for year five children.

“It was great fun while it lasted, and I really enjoyed being in London for the filming. I’m glad to be home now though – I missed proper pasties and I’m really looking forward to some down time at home this summer!” he added.