Exam cancellation is an opportunity for the UK to level up on recognising talent

The Government's announcement that GCSEs and A levels have been postponed or even cancelled has understandably caused much distress, for some. But some of the most talented entrepreneurs and workplace achievers in the UK today didn't get through O levels or GCSEs at all, through no fault of their own, and some of them would argue that it was the best thing that ever happened to them. You can read their stories below.

Movement to Work supports young people who have unemployed and out of education for a long period, and many of these people didn’t get on with GCSEs. We work with employers to provide work placements and other job opportunities for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, and give those without paper qualifications a chance to shine.

The exams announcement will mean that many could be unshackled by lack of paper qualifications and that they will be judged by future employers in a much more balanced way. There is almost always a positive but unintended consequence of any situation

It’s pretty well recognised now that some people are suited to academic education, whilst many are more practically gifted. And that’s not to do with intelligence or dedication; Lord Sugar built a business empire based on one ‘O’ level (GCSE equivalent until the 80s). And Simon Cowell has helped build the careers of stars worldwide, also based on one ‘O’ level. And there are some arguably bigger stars described below.

Angela Peacock

Angela owns and runs a global multi-￡million diversity and inclusion consultancy, PDT Global, which enables some of the world’s largest corporations to create inclusive workplaces. Angela left school at 16 with a CSE in drama and an ‘O’ level in English literature. “I was amazed I got those,” said Angela, “I was bullied so badly that I rarely went to school.” My final school report said: “Angela produces some excellent work on the rare occasions she’s here.”

Angela was very bright but her intelligence was devoted to avoiding bullies and convincing her parents she was at school. She said she wasn’t surprised that she only passed those two exams: “Those were the only ones I turned up for,” she said. “In my family and in much of society then girls weren’t seen as ‘breadwinners’ and any old job would do, as long as they were at work. I ended up selling advertising on the phone at 16, the only female in that company doing so.”

Angela said that she felt resentful of the school system and angry with herself. She knew she could have passed all her exams had she felt able to go to school. She started a number of small businesses, including a florist and a cake-icing firm. At 19 she was running an employment agency in the City of London.

After getting married Angela stayed at home to look after her new baby. At 34 she attended an adult-learning course where she found herself presenting on how to ice a chocolate mouse. One of the other attendees stopped her, saying that she couldn’t bear to see Angela wasting her talent. The two of them ended up starting up a training company, which became PDT Global.

Angela said that self-belief is key when facing a knock-back like failing your GCSEs. “Learn anything you can that’s useful and keep moving up a gear. Recognise that you feel vulnerable but find your self-confidence in your ability to learn. Build your ambitions and with that comes resilience. Take risks and be prepared to get it wrong, for people like me and the new ‘GCSE by-passers’ we’ve not a lot to lose like dropping out of a university course or some massive job that might not suit, so in a way we have an advantage.

“Qualifications only give you ‘permission’ to get on. You have that permission anyway, millions succeed without them.”

Jade Whale

There are many shining examples of what can be achieved that are a good deal younger than Simon Cowell or Lord Sugar. Amongst these is Jade Whale; on GCSE results day in August 2017, 16-year-old Jade was overcome with disappointment, passing just one GCSE.

Finding out her results was the culmination of a school life that she’d rather forget. Low in self-confidence and regularly skipping lessons, Jade was an introvert at school who just didn’t enjoy the experience. Now, with disappointing results, she was unsure of where to turn next and what her future entailed.

On results day, she met a coach from the Bath Rugby Foundation, the charity of local Premiership Rugby club Bath Rugby. The coach informed her of HITZ, an education and employability programme by Premiership Rugby which supports 16-24-year-olds not in education, training or employment (NEET).

The programme allows young people who may have fallen out of the education system, like Jade, or have had a troubled upbringing, to use sport as an inspiration to gain valuable qualifications and work experience to get their lives back on track.

By September, Jade had enrolled in Bath Rugby’s HITZ programme and as well as committing to personal self-development, set about earning the English qualification she wanted. Having never played rugby before, HITZ also gave her a chance to try the sport and help form new friendships alongside her academic studies through the HITZ Learning Academy.

Quickly, Jade emerged as a real leader in her HITZ group, visibly growing in confidence and helping inspire others to progress and work hard. Complementing HITZ, she volunteered with the Bath Rugby Foundation before progressing to helping with mixed-ability rugby training sessions with local grassroots club Walcott Warriors.

Initially Jade was shy, lacked confidence and did not put herself forward, but through volunteering her whole attitude to different scenarios completely changed, with new-found self-confidence. Through the sessions at Walcott Warriors, Jade met players from Bath Rugby Ladies, who invited her to training, and she is now signed up to play for the team.

Her new-found confidence translated into the classroom as she achieved her English qualification. Following her volunteering efforts, she has now been awarded a rugby coaching apprenticeship at the Bath Rugby Foundation, coaching future participants on the HITZ programme and wider Bath mixed-ability community teams.

Jade’s one-year transformation was commended by Premiership Rugby, she was crowned the winner of the Rugby Ambassador Award, supported by Land Rover, at the 2018 HITZ Awards.

“The award has inspired me to work even harder and I now know that I can actually go somewhere in life,” added Jade. “I’ve gone from being a kid with one GCSE from school to now being in the limelight with rugby, which feels amazing,” said Jade.

Lee Mallia

Lee Mallia, from Leeds, wants to be a physiotherapist and initially thought his lack of GCSEs and muscular dystrophy would hold him back. One of his friends worked for the NHS and told him that apprenticeships were available. This appealed to Lee because qualifications and weren’t needed by the NHS for an entry level apprenticeship.

Lee is now working as a clinical support worker, helping look after patients. He tends to their general needs, helping them move around and regularly turning the patients at risk of developing pressure sores. He carries out clinical observations too, such as patients’ temperature and blood pressure, checking cannulations, and carrying out blood sugar checks before mealtimes for patients who are diabetic. 

Lee said: “If patients ask for help moving around, I encourage them to be independent and to do it themselves first. I think being disabled myself helps us both.

“The best bit of the job is getting to know the patients on the ward as individuals. Depending on where you work, you look after quite a few elderly patients who often have a lot of stories to tell. I know I make a difference just by listening and getting to know them. The biggest challenge is not getting too attached to the patients. Obviously not everybody gets to go home from the ward so that can be tough, but it’s part of the job and a hospital counselling service is available if things get too much. I’ve worked on the ward a year now and still find it difficult losing someone, especially if I’ve got to know them. But I’m told it gets easier over time.”

Lee’s ambition is to become a physiotherapist. His apprenticeship qualification and experience of working with people in clinical support will help him get a physiotherapy assistant job and put him on the path to his dream of becoming a physiotherapist. 

Lee said: “An apprenticeship in health is definitely worth the experience. If you have qualifications already but need experience, it’s a way to do that and, if you don’t have any, it’s a way to get some. An apprenticeship is ideal for people like me.”

Paul McRoberts

Sometimes the answer really is not what you know, but who you know. But in a positive, not nepotistic sense. There may well be people out there, friends, family or youth-outreach workers who spot something in you that you’ve not thought about yourself; this can give you ideas for what you want to achieve, and ambition to get there despite a small stumble over your first qualifications. Paul McRoberts is slightly older than the previous two examples (he’s just retired!) but his angst when he didn’t get through his ‘O’ levels still haunts him to this day.

“I wanted to be a forensic scientist,” said Paul. “But that was out of the window, as was my second choice of being a police-dog handler. Some said that the dogs would probably be more qualified than me!”

Paul went back to his original aim of becoming a scientist and managed to find a job where he could study for a qualification in rubber technology.

“However,” said Paul, “That didn’t go too well either and by the time I was 18 my friends were getting excited about going to university whilst I found myself drifting. It was obvious to at least one person that I was struggling, my brother-in-law. He was 20-years older than me and recognised my personable demeanour and suggested that, like himself, should utilise these talents in a sales career.

“He showed me an advert from Trebor sweets for a trainee sales representative for the north-west of England, the rest is history. I have neither made my millions, nor found myself in the gutter, despite being unable to transfer my emotional intelligence through an exam paper to the real world. But I ended up being schooled by the best in blue chip FMCG companies who recognised a talent that can’t be tested through GCSEs, to market ethically well-known household brands in the UK and worldwide.

“With sales-director roles now behind me as I retire, I believe my reputation within the food Industry is held in high regard. That was down to someone spotting something in me that the job market needed and still needs today. I hope young people won’t despair if their GCSE results are not what they wanted. And I hope that someone steps in to give a nudge towards a meaningful career.”

Missing out of the GCSE grades you wanted isn’t the end of your ambitions, but the beginning of a new plan. You have your whole life to build a career you love.