Entering Year 1, five-year-old Chelsea is already learning long division – usually reserved for Year 4.
Her seven-year-old sister Jasmine is also ahead of the curve, currently learning the operations of fractions usually seen in Year 6.
Both girls are Kumon students, among the more than 4 million children part of the program worldwide.
Founded in Japan in 1955, Kumon is an individualised learning program tailored to a student’s current ability rather than age or school year.
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READ NOWChelsea and Jasmine’s father Johnny said he decided to enrol his daughters in Kumon because he benefitted from a similar program when he was growing up in Hong Kong.
“I did a short stint in a Kumon-type program when I was in school and it taught me a lot of good study habits and dedication in general,” he said.
“I went on to be dux of my high school and then dux of the University of Tasmania school of medicine and believe my academic achievements can be partly attributed to that.”