Wise Girls and 11+ Examinations

My wife Susan was born in Tunbridge Wells. Her family emigrated to Africa for 25 years - and Susan returned to live in Kent some thirty miles from her birth place.

Her family, especially her sister Judy in America, have investigated their history and came across a web site maintained by the National Geographic Society. All women can have their mtDNA tested though the Genographic Project. You simply send a swab through the post, along with an amount of money, and some time later a certificate arrives back

Susan belongs to Haplogroup H. All DNAs are descended from Mitochondrial Eve who was born in Africa some 150 000 years ago.

The male `Y’ chromosome polymorphisms are the male line of descent and also point to an African origin - but this dates back to only 60 000 years ago.

Surely this gives all girls approaching their 11+ examination the benefit of greater wisdom? Just remind your ten year old daughter of her long heritage. Sympathise with your son about his shorter heritage.

If you do decide to send a swab away for your female lineage the results will come back a lot quicker than the 11+ results.