A child prodigy has eased his way to a top-class maths A-level at the age of ten.

Alex Gordon-Brown was celebrating an A grade yesterday, just seven months after starting the course.

His achievement is all the more striking since the renowned difficulty of maths A-levels has seen entries slump by more than 20 per cent nationally.

Alex, of Farlington Road, Haywards Heath, achieved an A* in GCSE maths two years ago.

He is studying biology, chemistry and physics at GCSE standard, is learning German and Japanese and how to play piano, saxophone and guitar.

But his parents now want him to slow down before he runs out of things to study.

His mum, Erica Gordon-Brown, said: "It's not that he does a lot of work but he learns very fast.

"If he doesn't ease up a little now, we might struggle to find enough to interest him in the future."

Alex used to attend Heyworth Primary School in Haywards Heath before transferring to Tavistock and Summerhill Preparatory School in Summerhill Lane, Haywards Heath.

For the past year he has been taught privately at home - and teaching himself - because other pupils and teachers could not keep up.

Mrs Gordon-Brown said: "I'm shocked at his result, simply because he only started the syllabus in January with his tutor Keith Hudson. He finished the exams 25 minutes early and I thought he must have messed up. I prepared myself for bad news."

Alex said: "I was expecting an A but I'm happy about it all the same."

Mrs Gordon-Brown admitted: "I just buy the books he wants. I don't try to understand them."

She and husband Michael first noticed Alex was different when he started walking unaided and talking at the age of ten months.

He started reading at two - surprising his mother who had been convinced he would never become a keen bookworm.

She said: "I remember complaining to another mum that Alex didn't seem to be interested in books at all.

"Then, two days later, I bought a children's book from the post office to have another go. Later that day, my husband came running up to me and said: 'Alex is reading the book on his own!'

"I couldn't believe it. Very soon he had a reading age of nine."

Apart from all his other skills, Alex also goes to weekly drama school sessions in London.

Alex said: "I realised back in nursery school I was better at some subjects than others. But there are plenty of other things I talk to friends about."

The youngster also has an eight-year-old sister Jasmine and a two-year-old brother called Xavier.