Celebrities Who Prove You Can Still Succeed In Life Despite Your Exam Results
Updated: Jun 22, 2021
Thursday this week was an important day for many students across the UK as they found out their A-Level results. This year marked the first time in history where students were unable to actually sit their examinations due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of them suffered as a result of this and many saw their grades fall due to the new algorithm that was put in place.
In light of this we decided to construct a list of celebrities who have shown success is not necessarily determined by exam grades as a reminder to all those disappointed with their results that it doesn't define them or their chance of building a career.
Lord Alan Sugar
Entrepreneur and media personality Lord Alan Sugar left school at the age of 16 with near to no qualifications to his name, yet, he managed to build up his own business from scratch by selling electronic gadgets and now is estimated to be worth £1.5 billion! Who says you need an A-level in business studies to succeed in the sector?
Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell left school achieving only 2 O-Levels (Now known as GCSE's) although he is now considered to be one of the top dogs in the music industry, owning his own widely successful Record label as well as being the brains behind global successes such as Little Mix and One Direction.
Sarah Millican
Award winning comedian Sarah Millican has took to social media in previous years to tell her fans not to despair about results, sharing that she got a D and an E in her A levels and that "it isn't the end of the world if you don't get what you want."
Rihanna
Singer, songwriter and business women Rihanna dropped out of school at age 16 to pursue her music career and its safe to say it payed off. She is now considered to be one of the most famous female musicians of the 21st century and has more recently made millions from her beauty brand 'Fenty Beauty' which she launched in 2017.
Jeremy Corbin
Famous Labour Politician Jeremy Corbin defies the stereotype that all politicians need to excel in exams as he left school with 2 A-levels, achieving an E grade in both.
Whoopi Goldberg
Actress, TV personality and author Whoopi Goldberg dropped out of school but instead put in years of hard work to achieve her career goals and has now become a household name across the globe for her work.
Jay Z
American rapper Jay Z hopped from school to school when he was younger until eventually dropping out before graduating. However, that didn't stop him from becoming world famous for his music and becoming the first hip hop artist to reach billionaire status.
Richard Branson
Richard Branson who is known for founding the Virgin Group dropped out of school at age
16 to start his own business due to his lack of interest in continuing to study the traditional way. He is now one of the richest men in Britain and one of the richest people in the world, with an approximate net worth of $4.5 billion.
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Clarkson is one of the most popular TV hosts in the UK, known famously for his show 'Top Gear.' However, Clarkson is also known for reminding students via twitter every results day that he wasn't particularly academic himself. He once 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."
It is important to remember that even though academic success can help to open doors for your career that it is ultimately your drive, determination and ability to showcase your strengths that will get your to where you want to be. This years results are particularly unique and it's important to remember that no matter what the grade simply getting this far is an achievement itself.
Huge congratulations to everyone who received results this Thursday whether they were what you had hoped for or not.
"These results do not define you but may be an enabler, a route to the next chapter, may redirect you, be an experience or simply a point of reflection - There is more to come."