If TV quiz fans think Jasamrit Rahala’s face looks familiar, they would be right. The 17-year-old from Slough has reached the knockout finals of Channel 4’s Countdown, having been a fan of the programme since primary school. But for Jasamrit, identified as a maths prodigy aged nine, Countdown is just the latest in a string of gameshow endeavours, having become the youngest finalist on Child Genius aged 10 and competed in Britain’s Brightest Family. Now studying double maths, physics and computer science A-levels at Eton College, after winning a prestigious king’s scholarship which covers his fees, Jasamrit has his eye on University Challenge and Mastermind. “I’ve always watched Countdown, since I was six or seven. And I noticed I would get the teatime teasers and decided as soon as I could I would apply,” he said. He applied on his 16th birthday – the age limit for the show – but the pandemic meant he did not appear until he was 17. He was among the series’ top scorers, earning a place in the finals. “I like computer science and maths, and I guess it’s pattern recognition,” said the schoolboy, whose next game will air on 17 December. Jasamrit was identified as a gifted pupil in year 3 and achieved a maximum 162 Mensa IQ score at 11, but his talent has occasionally proved challenging for his parents. When not at Eton he lives with his father Santokh, mother Sardeep, a part-time NHS healthcare assistant, and sister Tania, 12, in a two-up, two-down in Slough. His father said he was embarrassed to admit he didn’t spot his son’s potential early on. “I was working every hour to make ends meet, long hours, and travelling to and from work,” said Santokh, 55, now a work coach for the Department for Work and Pensions after being made redundant from a 20-year job as a buyer for a food and drink company during the pandemic. When he realised Jasamrit was very smart, “we just didn’t know what to do. There is no roadmap. Parents don’t know what to do when they have a clever child, and nor do schools.” With money tight, Santokh scoured charity shops and car boot sales “finding old books wherever I could find them,” to encourage his son’s talent. “Our family motto is: poor books, rich words,” he said. Jasamrit scored top marks in the 11-plus and passed entrance exams for five fee-paying private schools. But owing to the family’s finances he went to Herschel grammar school, within walking distance of home. At 13 he was accepted at Eton, and he now hopes to attend a top university studying computer science. He puts his success down to a good balance of “work, rest and play”. He plays the violin, rows, plays badminton and hockey, has volunteered at his local Sikh temple and tutors online. “When I applied to Countdown, the only thing going through my mind was not to get knocked out in the first round. I do these things just for the fun of it. If it goes wrong, it goes wrong, and if it doesn’t it’s a nice experience,” he said. It doesn’t always go right. He, his father and his cousin Parvon were knocked out in the first round of ITV’s Britain’s Brightest Family. “We don’t talk about that one,” he laughed. Now he is trying to muster a team for the BBC Two show Only Connect. “I don’t know who he gets it from. Must be his mother,” said Santokh, who said his children were encouraged to spend one hour a day on maths and another on English in addition to their school homework. “We are just super proud of him.”