‘Always cracking jokes’: questions raised over Jason Arday’s claim he was non-verbal as a child

The Guardian UK Wednesday 12 August 2026, 15:00 UTC By Lanre Bakare, Aamna Mohdin and Sammy Gecsoyler 1 min read

Key Points

Fellow pupils at his primary school have challenged Cambridge academic’s story, though others support itThe story of Jason Arday’s extraordinary rise to becoming the youngest black professor in the history of the University of Cambridge is all the more remarkable for one claim: that he did not learn to speak until just shy of his 12th birthday. This claim was mentioned in a letter announcing his resignation last week, which came amid mounting questions about both his academic work and...

Fellow pupils at his primary school have challenged Cambridge academic’s story, though others support it

The story of Jason Arday’s extraordinary rise to becoming the youngest black professor in the history of the University of Cambridge is all the more remarkable for one claim: that he did not learn to speak until just shy of his 12th birthday.

This claim was mentioned in a letter announcing his resignation last week, which came amid mounting questions about both his academic work and statements he had made about his past.

Jason Arday’s (PERSON) Cambridge (LOCATION) the University of Cambridge (ORG)

Originally published by The Guardian UK Read original →

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‘Always cracking jokes’: questions raised over Jason Arday’s claim he was non-verbal as a child

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