Teenagers all across the country will be headed to their schools to pick up their GCSE results on Thursday. And while getting good grades can seem like a make or break scenario at the age of 16, the fact of the matter is that plenty of people who weren't incredibly intellectually gifted at school have gone on to achieve great things.
A quick Google search will bring up lists and lists of celebrities who reportedly flunked their big exams at the age of 16, but have still found the highest levels of success. For example, Sir Richard Branson - who founded Virgin - has a net worth of around $3billion despite reportedly doing dismally in terms of secondary education, while X Factor and Britain's Got Talent star Simon Cowell had a reported two O Levels to his name when he dropped out of school.
You don't have to be on par with the Einsteins or the Hawkings in terms of IQ to be successful, with a number of Premier League footballers who didn't do well in school paving a name for themselves through sheer athleticism and talent alone. Here, Express Sport breaks down how well some of England's best-known footballers got on in their GCSEs.
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Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney once took to X (formerley Twitter) to reveal that he didn't actually receive any GCSEs from school. Following Manchester United's 3-2 win over Hull City in 2017, Wazza wrote online: "Have to say our fans tonight was unbelievable," to which one fan said: "Does Rooney have any GCSEs seriously?"
As sharp as ever, Rooney quickly clapped back: "No I don't," with a couple of sunglasses emojis for good measure. While the Manchester United icon hired a tutor to help him with English and math GCSEs in 2007, football was where the star striker would thrive in - making his professional starting debut with Everton at just 16 years old and ending Arsenal's 30-game unbeaten streak with his maiden Premier League goal for the Blues.
He went on to win five league titles with Manchester United, an FA Cup, a Europa League and a Champions League trophy a-piece, and still sits as the Premier League's third-highest goal scorer of all time with 208 goals, bettered only by Alan Shearer and Harry Kane.
Steven Gerrard
While Steven Gerrard also struggled at school - achieving a C, six Ds and two Es in his exams - it wouldn't put him off becoming Liverpool's captain and a Champions League winner in his career as a footballer. Gerrard's former teacher, Gillian Morgan, reflected: "The thing I remember most about him was his ability as a leader on the field.
"I think he started playing for the school team when he was nine years old and even then Steven was always trying to help others." Gerrard was scouted by Liverpool's youth academy at the age of just nine, signing his first professional contract with the club in 1998 before becoming one of the Premier League Goliath's most decorated and well-respected players of all time.
Frank Lampard
Gerrard's 'golden generation' midfield teammate, Frank Lampard, meanwhile was quite the high achiever at school - earning 12 GCSEs at A or A* in his time at Brentwood School in Essex, including an impressive grade in Latin. Speaking of his school days, Lampard said: "In terms of application, I was quite a good boy at school.
"I wanted to do well, I wanted to please my teachers and my parents back home, and Latin was one I think I probably just crammed in a lot of revision at the right time and managed to get an A*, which everyone is so surprised about."
Even more impressively, Lampard took part in an IQ test while playing for Chelsea, where he was found to have an IQ of more than 150 - for context, a score higher than 140 indicated genius level. Lampard evidently also had the footballing IQ to match, winning three Premier League titles with Chelsea, four FA Cups, and a Champions League.
Harry Maguire
Another Manchester United legend, Harry Maguire was also a high-achiever in terms of his education - bagging a superb collection af As and A*s at GCSE level. Speaking of his achievements in the classroom, his former deputy headteacher, Sue Cain, said: "Harry was such a modest lad. He had his head screwed on even at that age.
"He did everything you asked him to do and he never questioned why. He was popular, and he was huge. Even at a young age he was very tall but he has filled out since then too. He towered over the other teams. He got A* and A grades in his GCSEs. I think he would have gone on to study business or maths and probably would have been an accountant. He was very capable academically."
Maguire went on to sign a professional footballing contract with Sheffield United after school, subsequently moving on to Hull City, Leicester City and Manchester United, where he still crafts his trade at the age of 31. At international level, Maguire has also racked up 63 caps for England, and was a staple part of the Euro 2021 squad who made the final against Italy, unfortunately coming up short through a brutal penalty shootout.
Harry Kane
Harry Kane was dubbed a "model student" by his former head of PE, Mark Leaden of the Chingford Foundation School. He previously told the East London Guardian: "He was conscientious, behaved himself and was a good all-round sportsman.
"He never saw himself as a superstar, he just got on with it. One of the things that stand out now at Tottenham is his work ethic. He was exactly the same here and always gave 100 per cent." While Leaden didn't reveal what GCSE's Kane received in his studies, he confirmed that Kane passed all of his exams.
Arguably one of the most talented English strikers of all time, Kane currently holds the all-time goal scoring record for his country with a whopping 66 goals in 98 appearances. He is also the Premier League's second all-time top goalscorer with 213 goals - only bettered by Alan Shearer's record of 260.
Marcus Rashford
One of the most iconic Manchester United players as of late, as well as an inspiration for his charity work off the pitch, Marcus Rashford left school with nine GCSEs before staying on to taked his A Levels. He was still at school when he signed his first professional contract for the Red Devils, and it is reported that he was still studying when his career started to take off in emphatic fashion.
While he hasn't got a Premier League title to his name just yet, Rashford was appointed MBE in the 2020 Birthday Honours for his campaign to end child food poverty, while he has also been a part of campaigns pertaining to Universal Credit and literacy.
Bukayo Saka
At just 22-years-old, it wasn't that long ago that Bukayo Saka was collecting his own GCSE grades - no doubt rejoicing on that faithful day with the four A*s and the three As he earned. Previously writing on Arsenal's official website about his school days, Saka explained how his parents were incredibly supportive of his footballing ambitions while encouraging him to stick in with book reading.
He wrote: "My mum and dad always encouraged me. They never stopped me from playing football, they just wanted to see a balance and I was also interested in my education. I actually got quite good grades, so they were pleased on that side. I got four A*s and three As in my GCSEs, so I did quite well at school.
"My favourite lesson was obviously PE, but I also liked business studies a lot, I got an A* in that." Fast forward to 2024, and Saka has came crucially close to lifting the Premier League title with Arsenal on two occasions now. The Gunners were pipped to the post by Manchester City in the 2022/23 campaign by five points, but Mikel Arteta's side managed to narrow the gap to just two points in the most recent season - much to the thanks of Saka's 16 goals and nine assists in 35 games.
