School dropout with no GCSEs turned 'just £25' into a £500k business

An entrepreneur who ditched school at 15 without any qualifications now manages his own business worth £500k - proving that exam results 'don't define your future'.

Twenty-year-old Oliver Hodgson dropped out of school in Year 10 with no formal qualifications after enduring years of bullying. Yet, his perseverance and vision to build a life paid off with his now successful six-figure PR firm, Platinum Live.

With a small but dedicated team under his leadership, he predicts a turnover of £500k by June 2025. Without any GCSEs or A-Levels himself, he offers words of encouragement to those receiving their results and aren't best pleased - suggesting that grades "aren't the defining factor of any young person's future".

Speaking from his experience Oliver, from Cumbria, said: "Long gone are the days of students being funnelled down one size fits all routes. It is very archaic and does not allow people to express themselves."

"Grades aren't the defining factor of any young person's future. They aren't make or break," reports the Mirror.

"In reality, so many companies nowadays are focused more on people who are adaptable team players willing to learn and grow and those with real experience and talent - not what grades they got in their GCSEs. The education system today is not a true reflection of the modern working society, from how people dress in the workplace to hierarchy and working practices. Times have moved on."

Businessman Oliver has also given back out chances like he needed when starting out, offering four interns aged between 16 and 20 with a comprehensive introduction to media relations, copywriting, photography, and design this summer. The urge to pursue his career was set alight at the age of 14 during his first