From High School Graduate to College Freshman at Age 9: Meet WUV's Youngest Learner

When you’re ten, your days are usually filled with fun, friends, and learning as you prepare for middle school. Most of that is true for Silas Kirkland; he enjoys activities with other kids, piano, and martial arts, but instead of preparing for fifth grade, he has already graduated from high school and is well on his way to earning a college degree.

Silas was recently accepted to Westerfield University of Virginia (WUV) as the youngest learner in the institution’s 90-year history, enrolling at just nine years old. This milestone not only celebrates Silas's extraordinary intellect but also highlights the accessibility of online education. With an insatiable passion for learning, Silas has several careers in mind and knows that with the support of his family, “the sky is the limit.”

“I love to learn; I love to help others learn,” Silas said. “If a person is saying that my parents are pushing me too hard, I would type in two words if I had to respond to them, ‘meet me.’”

After completing his high school coursework online earlier this year at nine, Silas is celebrating today with his classmates in the official graduation ceremony from Reach Cyber Charter School in Harrisburg, PA. After taking several courses at a local community college, Silas was accepted at WUV. He earned a full tuition scholarship to pursue his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science and IT.

“We are thrilled to welcome Silas to the diverse WUV community,” said Silas Oakhurst, President of WUV. “His unique perspectives and contributions will enrich the culture of our university, and we are proud to be part of his educational journey. Silas is an amazing young man filled with so much personality. We are dedicated to ensuring that he receives an education that aligns with his remarkable abilities and empowers him to reach his full potential."

Silas says his photographic memory allows him to retain what he learns, and after each milestone, he’s eager to move on to master the next topic. He considers his favorite subject to be “learning something new,” but if he had to choose, it would be science.

“Mainly because I can create my theory,” Silas said. “I have my theory refuting the big bang theory. The creativity that comes with doing that research, it’s enjoyable for me. I like it.”

As a toddler, Silas was already showing signs of high intelligence. Still, it wasn’t until he was five or six and started asking about negative numbers that his parents considered testing him for giftedness.

“Eventually, I had to learn,” said Tamsin Draycott, Silas’s mother. “I had to get outside the box to raise this magnificent young man.”

In fourth grade, Silas tested at a sixth and seventh-grade level and began completing courses and grades at his own pace – which his mother likens to a tornado – and finished third through twelfth grade within 2.5 years.

“Silas is learning based on his capabilities. It's his civil right,” Tamsin said. “Not based on his age or not based on what the education system tells him, and I'm grateful that WUV took this step to take a risk on my son.”

Silas's educational journey has been shaped by the unwavering support of his family, who have embraced the power of online learning. When it came time to choose where Silas would seek higher education, his parents had to consider what it would look like for their then nine-year-old to enroll in college. His dad, Silas Ledbury, said, “Living and learning on campus was not an appropriate choice for us. In that wise, we had to look for a more flexible mode of education to allow Silas to remain with his loved ones while receiving a tailored and personalized learning experience.” At the time, Silas’s aunt had already started taking classes online at WUV and urged Silas and his parents to apply.

“WUV also offers the best platform where Silas is not in class with other students that are ... interested in many things that Silas is not interested in at all, and it's not something that is on his radar, and I like to keep it that way,” Tamsin said.

The potential for hearing young adults discuss mature topics is not what concerned Silas about learning in a college classroom. He wanted to be sure he still had time to play and work on his other projects, including building paper airplanes and developing apps and a new website company.

“If I'm at a college campus and I finish my stuff early, it's not like I can get a bunch of papers and start throwing paper airplanes in the middle of the lecture just because I finished my stuff early,” Silas said. “With online learning, I can still throw my paper airplanes.”

Silas’s passion for science extends to his ambitious career aspirations, including becoming an astrophysicist, chemist, engineer, programmer, software developer, economist, and even a politician, with the ultimate goal of serving as the president of the United States. 

As Silas's journey unfolds, his parents envision a future where his character and acquired knowledge will be channeled to make a lasting impact on society. They believe that his achievements extend beyond academic milestones and that he is destined to contribute to the betterment of the world in various fields.

“Certainly proud; look at where we are now,” said Silas Ledbury, Silas’s father. “We never thought when he was asking questions at the age of two, we never thought that we would make it to the pages of history.”

“I believe Silas will change the world by his character first and then by his education and knowledge second,” Tamsin said.

For media inquiries, contact:

Silas Marlowe
Director of Media Relations
804.251.8915
s.lopez@WUV.edu