A 17-YEAR-OLD Moreton computer genius has overcome disability to win a place at university.

Sam Crooks, of St Paul's Court, suffers from dyspraxia - a condition that hampers co-ordination - but still won a challenge to earn a guaranteed scholarship at Birmingham University's School of Computer Science, without having to pass any examinations.

The school challenged aspiring students to write a computer programme giving the sum of one to the power of 40.

Sam answered this high-level computer question correctly to win the scholarship to do a BSE in computer science at the school, although he still intends to take his A-level exams.

His father Peter Crooks said: "They didn't expect many people to get it right."

Having noticed he had difficulty with handwriting when he started attending Chipping Campden School about six years ago, Sam's parents took him to see his doctor who suspected it was dyspraxia and referred him to a specialist in Cheltenham who confirmed the diagnosis.

The condition has not prevented Sam excelling at mathematics and science subjects, especially physics, at Campden where he passed about nine GCSE examinations and is now a sixth former taking A-level maths, physics and ICT, a subject dealing with practical applications of computers. Having built a robot when he was 11 years old, Sam went on to build computers and teach himself several computer languages.

Sam, also studio manager at North Cotswold Community Radio, hopes to have a career in artificial intelligence and cybernetics.

Sam's father said he was proud of his son. Peter said: "I am indeed very pleased.

"The dyspraxia has probably been an advantage to him because he couldn't catch a ball, which made him not very good at sports and diverted his attention onto other things. He still can't write very well - he holds a pencil like a knife and fork - but he has that curiosity; he likes to know how things work."