Whizz-kid Hjalmar Rall started his academic journey with the University of Pretoria (UP) in 2017. The young man who registered for a BSc in Physics at the age of 14 has completed his initial degree with cum laude and is set to graduate this autumn. 

Hjalmar completed Cambridge A-levels at the age of 13, after his father Heinrich took him out of school in Grade 5 to home-school him. He says in Grade 5 school activities could no longer compensate for his boredom, so his dad started home-schooling him and he accelerated through the Cambridge curriculum. “I consider myself a diligent and mature student, and my home-schooling gave me the necessary academic background to not have any great difficulty with my studies at the University,” he said.

Rall, who is currently enrolled for a BSc (Hons) in Physics at UP, originally hails from the small rural town of Riebeek Kasteel in the Western Cape, but he now lives in Brooklyn, Pretoria. He says his academic journey was relatively easy, though there were challenges at times. However, his love for mathematics made his studies enjoyable and served as sufficient motivation for him to overcome obstacles.

“I am finding my honours class easier than my undergrad since I now have a much broader background, and I am familiar with the academic system. I must admit that studies take up a large part of my day, but I do find time to go out from time to time, or to have a braai with some friends occasionally. With the wonders of instant messaging I find more than enough time to chat with friends,” he said.

The 17-year-old says he hopes to complete his honours degree this year, thereafter he intends to enroll for a doctorate, and in the long-term he hopes to do extensive research and teach at the California Institute of Technology, the alma mater of American theoretical physicist Richard Feynman. Rall, who grew up looking up to Feynman, says: “Not only was he a great physicist with an exceptionally enquiring mind, but he was also one of the greatest teachers of the previous century, he influenced many of today’s top physics researchers.”

Hjalmar says when he is not studying he enjoys reading, drawing, playing and listening to music. He spends the remainder of his time chatting with friends and fiddling with his computer’s GNU/Linux operating system. His advice for high-school students who want to venture into physics is that they should complete Cambridge A-level mathematics, chemistry and physics after their matric. He says the background that this provides will ensure that they graduate on time.