Meet Theodore, Singapore's youngest chemistry whizz who attends lectures at NTU

Boy, 7, youngest person in S'pore to score an A in chemistry in O-level equivalent exam

- Sandra Davie Senior Education Correspondent

Theodore Kwan, seven, who holds five records, including one for being the first and youngest to score full marks in a science Olympiad, was invited by an NTU science lecturer to his class in September after hearing about the boy's love of chemistry. Students in the class have nicknamed Theodore "Young Sheldon", after a child prodigy TV character. Theodore is pictured with his parents Crystal Tang, 34, and Kwan Jung Hong, 44, and his sister Tabitha, three. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH

(ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH)

Foundational chemistry on Thursday afternoons at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) became a lot more interesting for some 400 freshmen when a cherubic, bespectacled seven-year-old arrived one day in September with his mum and sidled up to a seat in the lecture hall.

At first, the undergraduates in the class thought Theodore Kwan was there only to accompany his mum, Madam Crystal Tang, 34, a PhD student at NTU's medical school.

To their surprise, they soon found out about his exceptional knowledge and ability in chemistry. Earlier in 2025, he became the youngest person in Singapore to score an A for a chemistry paper in the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), an O-level equivalent exam. In October, he is registered to sit the IGCSE mathematics paper.

What is more, Theodore, who is homeschooled by his mum, also holds four other Singapore records, including one for being the first and youngest to score full marks in a science Olympiad, according to the Singapore Book of Records that compiles and adjudicates all national records.