Hundreds of thousands of pupils in the UK received their GCSE results on Thursday and found out if they got into to their chosen sixth forms and colleges.
While for many it may determine what careers they go on to secure, every year a whole host of celebrities prove that grades don’t dictate everything.
Discussing their education in the past, Ant and Dec revealed a spooky similarity between their grades.
Meanwhile, Holly Willoughby had an unfortunate discovery while sitting her exams, with Richard Branson suffering the same set back.
Other’s proved to have a much smoother journey with one Olympian making his dreams come true.
So, as teenagers up and own the country receive their results… here MailOnline takes a look at some bonkers celebrity GCSE results day stories.
Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly
Ant and Dec first met when they were 14-years-old after being cast as PJ and Duncan on Byker Grove before going on to be successful TV presenters
Ant and Dec first met when they were 14-years-old after being cast as PJ and Duncan on Byker Grove before going on to be successful TV presenters.
The duo not only share their careers but also received the same amount of GSCE’s and identical grades, three Bs and two Cs each.
‘I think we have different academic strengths. I’d be better at numbers and logic — he hates stuff like sudokus, which I like, to pass the time on journeys,’ Dec admitted to Radio Times.
Recalling his time at school, before being cast in the TV show, Ant told Chronicle Live: I loved drama at school and I was put forward by my drama teacher Lyn Spencer. If it wasn’t for her, pushing me and supporting me, I don’t think I would be here today. So thank you very much Lyn.
‘I really enjoyed Why Don’t You, but I didn’t actually enjoy the aftermath of it, getting spotted in school, there was quite a lot of mickey taking and name calling and I found that kind of tough.
‘So when they came to audition for Byker Grove, I didn’t want to do it. I hid the letter from my mam and a mate of mine back then grassed me to my mam.’
Holly Willoughby
Holly Willoughby was educated at Burgess Hill Girls School but struggled through her GCSE’s and subsequently diagnosed with dyslexia (pictured in January 2024)
Holly was educated at Burgess Hill Girls School but struggled through her GCSE’s and subsequently diagnosed with dyslexia.
The presenter said admitted she dreaded having to read out passages in class and ‘couldn’t spell.’
She said: ‘I didn’t get my dyslexia diagnosis until my GCSEs which is relatively quite late.
‘I hated reading out loud because I couldn’t read well and would get the words mixed up and I was constantly embarrassed.’
Speaking on This Morning, Holly explained: ‘I had to find my own tool kit and for me it was finding somebody who understood this who could teach me how to access those tools because at school it wasn’t really that well known then.
‘I wouldn’t write anything down in front of people because I didn’t want them to see, but it doesn’t bother me now that I can’t spell.’
The media personality added that she was able to cope with the condition when she received advice in her late teens.
Holly added: ‘But when I went to college, there was one lady in particular I met who gave me so much advice and for me that was my turning point.’
Tom Daley
Tom became Britain’s youngest ever world champion at just 15-years-old but just the rest of us, still had to sit his GCSE’s (pictured this month in Paris)
Tom became Britain’s youngest ever world champion at just 15-years-old but just the rest of us, still had to sit his GCSE’s.
However, his early rise to fame did help him secure the help of one of the world’s best-known supermodels to pose for his photography exam.
Tom met Kate Moss when he was invited to join her at a photo shoot in London for Italian Vogue. They were pictured together and chatted about his fascination with photography.
He then plucked up the courage to ask if she would model for a course project in which he had chosen to re-create famous works of art as photographs.
‘I asked Kate if she would be kind enough to model for a particular shot I wanted, one inspired by an original portrait by David Hockney,’ he told The Daily Mail in 2009.
‘I told her it was for part of my course and she agreed.’
Gemma Collins
Reality TV star Gemma Collins, left school at 16 after not enjoying studying and taking exams (pictured in June)
Reality TV star Gemma Collins, left school at 16 after not enjoying studying and taking exams.
After leaving school with a ‘U’ in maths, Gemma wasn’t fazed; she told the magazine, YOU: ‘I remember sitting in the exam room for my maths GCSE and thinking, ‘I’m going to be famous, I don’t need maths. What I really need is to go down Romford High Street and buy new shoes.’
Years later, Gemma’s dreams of fame came true as she became a castmember on ITV reality series TOWIE.
Richard Branson
Like Gemma, after having a turbulent ride studying, Richard Branson left school at 16, where his headteacher told him he’d either end up in prison or he’d become a millionaire
Like Gemma, after having a turbulent ride studying, Richard Branson left school at 16, where his headteacher told him he’d either end up in prison or he’d become a millionaire.
Richard was diagnosed with dyslexia in his twenties after years of struggling academically at school.
A few years later, he launched his first business, a magazine named ‘Student’, and today, he owns Virgin Atlantic, one of the largest airlines globally and has a network of $2.5B.
Richard previously described his schooling experience to The Times in 2022, detailing his frustration of struggling to read and write.
He said his earliest memories of education are ‘looking at a blackboard and just seeing mumbo jumbo and relegating myself to the back of the class, so I could at least try to look over somebody else’s shoulder to see if I could get some marks, but having no understanding of what was going on and longing for break time so I could go out and play.’
At the time of his schooling in the 1950s and 1960s, dyslexia was not widely recognised and Richard said: ‘I would jumble things up. People just assumed that we [dyslexics] were stupid. I was definitely bottom of the class.’
He advised students: ‘You won’t necessarily reach success because you failed exams but you can reach success in spite of failed exams.’
The Virgin founder has said that the disorder has benefitted him and contributed to his immense success.
Writing on his blog, Richard explained: ‘Over the years, I learnt to harness my dyslexic thinking, and embrace the curious ways my mind would work.’
He said he was drawn to others who had unique personalities and ways of thinking and frequently hired them, saying: ‘We weren’t fussed on qualifications or credentials – we hired for the skills we needed, and we focused on attitude over accolades.’
The businessman insisted that the current education model is ‘unfair’ as it marks everyone the same, regardless of their individual strengths and weaknesses.
Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell left school with just two O level—the equivalent of two GCSE—but then dropped out at 16
He may be at the pinnacle of the music industry now, but Simon Cowell wasn’t always top dog.
The X Factor judge left school with just two O level—the equivalent of two GCSE—but then dropped out at 16.
He began his career working in the mailroom at his father’s company, EMI Music Publishing.
Now, Simon is known for the hit talent shows X Factor and Britain Got Talent, which have been franchised worldwide.
Cheryl
Cheryl knew she wanted to be an entertainer from a young age and left school without attaining a single GCSE
Cheryl knew she wanted to be an entertainer from a young age and left school without attaining a single GCSE.
She became a member of Girls Aloud aged 19 after competing on the reality series Popstars: The Rivals.
In a blog for The Huffington Post, Cheryl wrote in 2012, ‘For those who did well with their GCSEs or even managed to scrape by, their world is about to change.
‘Maybe they’re about to take up a place at college to study their chosen subjects, or maybe they have their dream job lined up. Either way, it’s a time for celebration.’
Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams failed all of his GCSEs in secondary school
Robbie Williams didn’t entertain anyone with his academic achievements.
Despite being predicted to earn As and Bs in English, History, and Geography, he ultimately floundered, failing all of his GCSEs in secondary school.
However, fate was on his side when he joined Take That. Reflecting on his journey, Robbie remarked, ‘If I went back to uni, well before that, I would go back and get all of my GCSEs – I failed them all.’
