Sparta 7-year-old accepted into Mensa

Sparta resident Jameson Murphy, 7, has been accepted into Mensa, an international organization for people who demonstrate exceptionally high intellectual ability.

Jameson qualified for membership after testing in the top 1% nationally for his age and grade level.

According to his family, Jameson has demonstrated a strong curiosity, memory and love of learning from an early age. By age 2, he knew the authors of his favorite books and could recite entire books from memory. At 3, he served as the banker during Monopoly games, while by 4 he was working with multiplication and division and creating engineering designs. At 5, he began writing his own chapter books.

Jameson is homeschooled through the Murphy School of Play and Exploration, where his education follows his interests and curiosity. He enjoys chess, building and engineering, history, reading and writing and has developed an extensive vocabulary.

His interests extend beyond academics. Jameson has helped his father coach the Madison Dodgers Varsity Soccer team, which won a state championship last fall. He also began playing football for the Sparta Spartans this fall.

“Jameson has always been incredibly curious,” his family said. “He wants to know how things work, why they work, and what he can create with what he learns.”

While the family is proud of his Mensa achievement, they said they are even more proud of the person he is becoming.

“We are incredibly proud of his acceptance into Mensa, but even more proud of the kind, curious, determined and well-rounded young man he is becoming,” the family said.