Richard Branson and Jeremy Clarkson pen encouraging messages to A-level students
Hundreds of thousands of students in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland received their exam results on Thursday.
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Your support makes all the difference.Entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson and TV star Jeremy Clarkson have written encouraging messages to A-level students who might have received disappointing news about their grades.
Hundreds of thousands of students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland received their exam results on Thursday in a year when grading was expected to be restored to pre-pandemic levels in all three nations.
Billionaire businessman Sir Richard said his headmaster “predicted that I would either end up in prison or become a millionaire” when he was aged 15.
The 74-year-old shared a video to X, formerly Twitter, and said he hoped it would bring “encouragement” to any students anxious about their results.
In the clip, he said: “Well I used to dread the day my report cards arrived in the mail as I had undiagnosed dyslexia.
“And it rarely brought good news. Words like lazy, backwards, below average often appeared alongside the letter D and E.
“But I’m so glad my grades didn’t define me, I’ve learned so much more about the world, about business, about all parts of life since leaving school.
“So if you didn’t get the grades you wanted today don’t let it get you down.
“Work out what you’d love to do, stay curious, take notes and treat people well, then no one will be too bothered about your grades.”
In his annual A-level results day message about finding success, despite his poor results, former Top Gear star Clarkson used the opportunity to plug his latest venture.
He wrote to X: “Don’t worry if your A level results aren’t what you were hoping for.
“I got a C and two Us, and here I am, 46 years later, with my own pub.
“It opens next weekend if you fancy dropping in.”
Clarkson, 64, revealed earlier this year that he paid “less than £1 million” for The Windmill, which is set in five acres of countryside near Burford in Oxfordshire.
Elsewhere sports broadcaster Jake Humphrey shared a text from his father which said the results he had received 28 years ago which he “didn’t want” later “turned out for the best”.
The 45-year-old wrote to X: “It was the love, patience and understanding of my parents that got me through my A-Level results day.
“If someone in your life hasn’t got the results they want today, put an arm around and show love. Their future is far from written…”
Congratulating his daughter for her results was The Repair Shop’s Jay Blades, who wrote in a social media post: “Please join me in congratulating my beautiful daughter on passing her 4 A-levels with flying colours.”
Countdown star Carol Vorderman also offered her congratulations to the “wonderful young people” receiving their results in a post to X.