Britiain's biggest high IQ society looks to recruit Northampton's brightest minds at testing day

A national society for people of high intelligence is set to hold a testing day here in Northampton in a bid to attract new members.
A Mensa testing day from 2014.A Mensa testing day from 2014.
A Mensa testing day from 2014.

Mensa, the world’s oldest high IQ society, is going on the hunt for new recruits here in the town this month for anyone curious about their potential.

The test will be held at the Central Library in Abington Street on Saturday, January 19, at 10.30am.

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The session will be open to anyone over the age of 10-and-a-half, but must be booked in advance. The test costs £24.95 and can be booked via www.mensa.org.uk/iq-tests

Mensa members all have an IQ in the top two per cent nationally – but that is the only thing they have in common.

The society says it offers "a rare opportunity to meet a diverse range of people in an environment which is non-political and free from all social, racial or religious distinctions."

A Mensa spokesman said: "Get-togethers take in everything from exclusive academic lectures to a chat in the pub – and everything in between. There is always something going on somewhere, right across the country."

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There are already 140 Mensa members in the Northamptonshire area – but it is understood more than 13,000 would qualify for membership.

The supervised test consists of two separate industry-standard assessments.

One measures mainly verbal reasoning skills and the other, which includes only diagrams and images and no words, assesses visual and spatial logic. This test is particularly suitable for those with English as an additional language or language processing issues such as dyslexia.

Candidates need only score in the top two per cent on either of these tests, not both, to be offered membership.

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The tests are not suitable for children under the age of 10 and a half. Younger children can be admitted to Mensa on the basis of a psychologist’s assessment.

For more information visit www.mensa.org.uk, call 01902 772771 or email [email protected]