Some famous faces left school with straight As and bagged university spots, while others weren’t as successful – but it didn’t stop them reaching the top of their fields
Even some of the most famous and wealthiest celebrities we know and look up to today failed their A-level exams – or dropped out of school before they could even complete them.
Take the articulate and award-winning comedian Russell Brand, who doesn’t have a single A-Level, or presenter Jeremy Clarkson, who likes to remind us all every year that he got a C and two Us. But there are some masterminds among those in the limelight, such as Emma Watson, who is just as studious as her character Hermione.
As students across the country nervously collect their exam results today, the Mirror takes a look back at the well-known stars that passed with flying colours, and the ones that didn’t do quite as well.
Tom Daley
It seems there is no end to Team GB diving hero Tom Daley’s abilities as he’s gifted off the diving board and in the classroom. Despite training around the clock for his Olympic diving career, Tom still managed to study and took his GCSEs in small batches to fit around his pool commitments.
For his A-levels, he earned an A* in Photography and As in Spanish and Maths, getting his results the year after he secured an Olympic bronze at London 2012. In a later video message, he said reading his results on email was “the most nerve-wracking thing ever, having to open that and see it come through”. He added: “I never have to go to school ever again. I am kind of going to miss it but I mean I’m very happy to come away with straight As and yeah, very happy.”
Jeremy Clarkson
The nation is eagerly awaiting with anticipation as to what message of support Jeremy Clarkson will tweet out this year. It’s now become tradition for the former Top Gear host to post an iconic results day tweet, which always revolves around how he left school with disappointing grades and now has a lot of money.
It’s very well known now that he got a C and two Us in his A-levels, which isn’t exactly in top gear. First starting in 2014, he tweeted: “If your A level results aren’t joyous take comfort from the fact I got a C and two Us. And I have a Mercedes Benz.” In subsequent years’ tweets he revealed he was sitting in a St Tropez villa, on a super yacht, having truffles prepared by a chef and deciding which of his Range Rovers to drive.
Emma Watson
The Harry Potter star was another celebrity who grew up in the limelight and still managed to achieve excellent results. The fact Emma Watson managed to study for her exams while shooting one of the biggest film series of all time is an achievement in itself.
Proving she’s just as smart if not smarter than her character Hermione Granger, gained straight As in English Literature, Geography and Art in 2008. The popular actress then went to study English Literature at the highly-acclaimed Brown University in America.
Jon Snow
Acclaimed Channel 4 journalist Jon Snow had a tricky time with his A-levels. The presenter only managed to get a C in English Language and failed geography and biology completely, so decided to switch college. While he was at sixth-form college he had an affair with a librarian nearly twice his age and would sneak off into her car during his lunch breaks while studying at Scarborough Tech.
Confessing all to the Evening Standard in 2014, he explained: “I was warned off by my lecturer, who told me I was very unwise to be seen going off in the lunch hour in the librarian’s car.” He managed to “scrape a place reading Law at the University of Liverpool” but did not complete his undergraduate studies as he was expelled for his part in a 1970 anti-apartheid socialist protest. “I was really chuffed I got any A-levels at all, I was a complete dunderhead,” he once said.
Russell Brand
The movie star, presenter and comedian didn’t manage to obtain a single A-level – and it’s something he is proud of. Russell Brand went to a secondary school in Essex before being accepted into the prestigious Italia Conti Academy, which he was then expelled from after just a year.
But it’s never impacted Russell as he went on to have a thriving career in the showbiz world and is regarded as one of the smartest celebs around. “Good luck with your exams but don’t take it seriously – I have no A-Levels and am now studied for A-Level, it’s all rhubarb,” he once tweeted.
Clare Balding
The famed sports broadcaster who is often seen at Wimbledon or Royal Ascot had quite the journey to the top of her profession. In her A-Levels, she did not get great results and ended up failing History and Latin, but she took two years out after school to retake the exams and perfect her interview technique, which later landed her a spot at the prestigious Cambridge University.
Deborah Meaden
Deborah Meaden is proof you don’t need the top grades to become a business tycoon. The Dragons’ Den star, who has three honorary degrees, left school at the age of 16 before doing her A-levels.
Deborah launched her first business straight out of college at the age of 19, a glass and ceramics import company, then took on the first British franchise for Italian clothing company Stefanel. She now owns a portfolio of successful businesses, splashing out a whopping £4,786,000 in the Den alone, and is worth around £40million.
Simon Cowell
The music mogul didn’t have The X Factor at school as he left early with just three O-Levels (the exams taken before the days of GCSEs). After taking a few ‘menial’ jobs, including as a runner on 1980 horror film The Shining, Simon Cowell’s dad managed to get him a role in the mail room at EMI Music Publishing.
He left after failing to get a promotion to try out other jobs, then came back and the rest as they say is history. Simon proved he Got Talent without achieving top marks.
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Branson has done quite well for himself considering he dropped out of school at 16 – and is now worth a whopping $5 billion. The Virgin boss has previously stated his belief that the key to success isn’t necessarily grades but applying strengths and focusing on goals.
Speaking on results day in 2016, Richard warned students not to get too caught up in grades and pointed out “you can reach success in spite of failed exams”. “If you didn’t get the results you were hoping for, don’t despair,” he tweeted. “There is lots more to be learned from failure than success, and if you have the will to succeed, not having a paper with A,B or C written on it isn’t going to hold you back.”
Geri Horner
Before she became a pop sensation with the Spice Girls, Geri Horner showed a particular flair for English. Ginger Spice scored an A in English Language at Camden School for Girls, but she didn’t bother with university as it was all about ‘girl power’.
Instead, Geri worked as a nightclub dancer in Majorca and became a glamour model at the age of 19. The singer then joined the Spice Girls as they went on to become the best-selling female group of all time.