Wall to Wall Media is searching to find the UK’s most brilliant young minds aged 8-12 to take part in Channel 4’s ‘Child Genius’ competition series.
Does your child constantly astound you with his or her mental prowess? If you are a family experiencing the joys and challenges of parenting a gifted child, we’d love to hear your story.
If you would like to apply, email child.genius@walltowall.co.uk to be sent an application form.
THE CLOSING DATE FOR ALL COMPLETED APPLICATIONS IS 15th APRIL 2019
- When completing the form, please give detailed answers. If we are interested in finding out more about you and your child, we will then contact you to verify that you are the parent or the legal guardian, and that you have consented to the submission of the application. We would then like to hear a little bit more about your child and your family’s motivation for entering the competition.
- Should we wish to proceed further still with the application we would ask for a photo of your child and of the family and we would organise a time to conduct a video interview with the whole family, e.g. Skype or FaceTime. (This can be done by telephone if video calling is not possible).
Child Genius 2019 will feature a competition devised in association with high IQ society British Mensa and other leading children’s educational experts. Around 20 brilliant 8-12 year olds will take part in rounds to be filmed in July and August 2019. We will spend time filming with the children and their families in the lead-up to the start of the competition, between rounds and in preparation for the grand final in August 2019.
Each of the six episodes will follow a number of children taking part in the competition. (Unfortunately we cannot guarantee that everyone will be included or the extent to which they will be included in the finished series). We will explore with parents the joys and challenges of raising a gifted child. It is important that we are able to tell the individual story of each family featured – how attitudes to parenting and schooling may differ from one parent to another.
We are also really keen to appeal to children who have the ability, but until now have never had the chance to shine – children of all backgrounds with different interests, academic and non-academic, are welcome to apply. Child Genius offers parents the chance to bring their children together with like-minded peers.
The competition will take place at the Royal Institute, Mayfair and the main body of the series will be filmed in July and August 2019.
MORE ABOUT THE CHILD GENIUS SELECTION PROCESS
The application process involves FIVE stages:
- An application form. We will review all applications and may follow up those applications with a Skype/FaceTime or phone chat with the family one early evening after school.
- Those selected to go forward will be invited to a Child Genius Open Day in London. This will take place in early May 2019. The children (with accompanying families) will register, meet producers and circulate round various rooms where they can show off their abilities or even discover some new hidden potential. Activities will include (but are not limited to): Fingers-on-Buzzers quizzing; the Mensa Challenge; Strategy Games and Logic Puzzles. Child Genius producers, educational psychologists and a representative from Mensa will be on hand to answer your questions. After the lunchtime period, the children will sit a Raven’s Matrices paper (a long-established non-verbal multiple choice test of general intelligence). Your child’s results will be posted to you for your personal information once the series has been filmed and broadcast. General filming will take place at this Open Day.
- We will arrange home visits for those families proceeding to the next stage of the application process. This will be a chance for us to get a sense of life at home and will be a first small taste of the cameras for the family. This is a great chance for your child to show us some of their hobbies and interests – something the children taking part in previous series have often enjoyed.
- A shortlist of families will be then be selected to attend a series of meetings at Wall to Wall’s offices. Your child will sit a one-on-one IQ test with an educational psychologist and there will be a private consultation for the whole family with a clinical psychologist. Families will also have an in-depth private chat with the series’ senior editorial team, to answer any questions about, and discuss generally, future participation in the competition and the series. As we need to speak to both parents, we will organise a separate meeting for any parent who cannot attend on this day for any reason, so that he or she can feel fully informed first-hand. From here we feel that all parties will have the tools to make an informed decision as to whether taking part in the competition and the series is right for your child and your family.
- Using the information gathered during the application process, up to 20 children and their families will be selected and invited to take part in the televised competition. Please note that wide and varied criteria will be used to make the final decision as to those children selected to take part in the competition including (without limitation) academic tests; a range of interests; hobbies; attitudes to learning and different educational beliefs. The producer and broadcaster’s decision is final.
