Carol Vorderman shares pride as son 'deemed unteachable' earns master's degree

Carol Vorderman said her son Cameron was "deemed unteachable" as a result of his learning difficulties, but has now defied the odds to earn a master's degree.

The 60-year-old former Countdown numbers whizz told the Daily Mail she "didn't know how it would be possible" for him to reach academic levels akin to his sister Katie, who is on the verge of earning a PhD in nanotechnology.

Vorderman said Cameron had problems with fighting and bad behaviour as soon as he started school and teachers told her he was "disruptive, a trouble-maker".

Read more: Carol Vorderman shares photo of herself aged 20

"I took him around other schools — six, maybe seven — to see if they would take him, but when they heard the history, they all said no. He was deemed unteachable," she said.

"By six, this child I loved so much, that I would have done anything for, was being rejected — by the school, by the teachers, by the other pupils. It was heart-breaking, utterly heart-breaking."

Watch: Carol Vorderman discusses struggle with COVID-19

Cameron was diagnosed with severe dyslexia, ADD (attention deficit disorder) and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).

Vorderman was able to get her son a place at a fee-paying school for children with special educational needs, which is something she acknowledges is not an option for many parents given the financial commitment.

Read more: Carol Vorderman discusses growing up in poverty

She said: "I've had hundreds of parents contact me, in exactly the situation we were, with kids who are being thrown on the scrap-heap. It's scandalous. I could afford this. Most cannot."

The star praised her son for overcoming the challenges in front of him to earn his master's degree in animation and visual effects from Dundee University.

Vorderman said: "The gap between how I thought children learned and how he needed to learn was so vast. But he has been teaching me. I'm still learning from him.

"There's so much about education, about the brain, about how we learn that I simply did not know. Things that we, as a society, need to know."

Read more: Carol Vorderman donates private plane to help transport PPE

She said her son's "determination" was the reason for his success, adding: "I could not be prouder of how he has done this, because frankly I didn't know how it would be possible."

Vorderman split from Cameron's father — management consultant Patrick King — in 2000, three years after their son was born.

Watch: Vorderman says she was told she couldn't join RAF