Educating entrepreneurs

Education, in the broadest sense, is a fascinating, frustrating, complex subject in the debate about entrepreneurism. Look at how many of our Score came away from school with few academic qualifications, if any. Some have at least one university degree – their brain patterns are beautifully in sync with the prevailing patterns of our education system.
The rest are intelligent, canny, resourceful, brave and full of life – but the school system didn’t think so. The folk who have made world-class successes of themselves have proved their educators wrong. They could have been unlucky, had bullies and bigots for teachers. But more often the story is that school didn’t interest them, that they didn’t fit into the pattern, that it was only when they were cut loose to find their own way did they come to life. They are pegs the shape of concave polygons, starfish, amoebae, waves – stuffed into rigidly square holes.
Here are 20 individuals, from a broad spectrum of backgrounds, from the very top of the social tree down to the grass roots. At least two of the academically-challenged went to two of the most famous schools in the country. One of them says the most valuable lessons he learned at said school were how to climb tall buildings at night, and how to defend himself against bullies. He has been, for 25 years, the leading exemplar in the world in his field. So much for exams.
A number of the Score said they had better things to do with their time and energy than waste it at school; a couple of others were actively discouraged and demoralised by their own teachers – told they were rubbish…………….