At four years old he was studying Einstein's theory of relativity.

So perhaps it is no surprise Tristan Tuen-Matthews, now ten, is turning into a mathematical prodigy.

Under the tutelage of his dad Mark at their home in Cross-in-Hand, near Heathfield, Tristan has gained an impressive Grade A* in GCSE maths.

When he sat the exam at South Downs College in Eastbourne this summer he finished half an hour early and still answered 93 per cent of the questions correctly.

The exam invigilator said he was the youngest candidate she had ever seen.

Tristan, who attends Cross-in-Hand Primary School, told The Argus he was not even nervous on the day of the exam.

He said: "I had done well at practice exams at home so I felt I could do just as well in the real thing. I like maths because I like the way things work out exactly and I like finding out answers."

The schoolboy, who dedicated two hours a night for several weeks to revision for his GCSE exam, revealed his expertise often came in handy during maths lessons too.

He said: "The maths I study at school is a bit too simple so sometimes I help out the other children."

Tristan, who is now studying for an A-level in pure maths, advised anyone struck with fear at the very thought of attempting a mathematical conundrum to keep on trying.

He said: "Don't be scared and try to work on it and reason it out. Anyone can work out a maths problem if they try hard enough and study the theory."

When not poring over formulas, Tristan likes to practise one of the eight musical instruments he is learning, including piano, clarinet, bagpipes, violin and drums. He also plays badminton for an East Sussex under-11s team.

His father, a retired property developer who trained in physics and considers maths a leisure activity, said his son was an ordinary child with an extraordinary ability to absorb information.

Mark said: "He picks things up very quickly and because he wasn't getting challenged at school I started teaching him about Einstein's theories and Newton's laws when he was four.

"He still has lots of friends and plays in three orchestras. He's a normal little kid who happens to be very surprising when you give him a maths question."

Tristan said he had no plans to dedicate his life to numbers. Instead he harbours dreams of helping to solve crimes as a pathologist or even becoming a James Bond-style spy.

That does not necessarily signal the end of the family's prospects of achieving greatness in the world of maths.

Tristan's younger sister, Tzarina, is already making headway with quadratic equations. And she is only six years old.