The world's oldest high IQ society is coming to Maidstone to recruit more people.

There are currently 515 Mensa members in Kent - the youngest is aged six and the oldest, 90. However, based on the population of the county, there are another 30,000 eligible for membership.

Olive and Bob Cherry from Sevenoaks, both in their 70s, have been members of Mensa for over 30 years and now organise events for the society.

Mr Cherry took the test in 1984 after solving newspaper brain teasers.

Mrs Cherry, who took the assessment a few years after her husband, said: "I left school at 15 without any qualifications and being a Mensa member made me more confident in my ability. My husband did it so I thought why can't I."

Jenny Gill, chairman of British Mensa, said: "Mensa gives people an opportunity to be part of a society where they can meet similar people on the same wave length."

The group was founded in 1946, with a single qualifying factor - scoring in the top 2% of verified IQ tests.

Patterns of letters and words are the basis of the verbal reasoning test, while the other builds on non-verbal reasoning skills - identifying patterns in shapes and pictures.

But is a high IQ a valid measure of intellect?

Senior psychology lecturer at Canterbury Christ Church University, Dr Wendy Iredale, said: "IQ tests are a good way of predicting behaviour and categorising people but we shouldn't see it as the be all and end all.

"Emotional intelligence is also very important, and this is not considered in a standard IQ test."

And Mrs Cherry added: "A high IQ definitely doesn't give you common sense."

Mensa is not just about having a high IQ. There is a network of regional social groups, hosting events, which all members can attend.

Candidates need to be in the top 2% on either the verbal or non-verbal reasoning to get membership.

The Mensa test will be held in Maidstone Community Support Centre in Marsham Street on Saturday, February 2, at 2pm and open to anyone aged 10-and-a-half or over. It costs £24.95. People younger than this can become a member through psychological assessment.

Tests must be booked in advance at mensa.org.uk/iq-tests