As the Grade 12 population of South Africa and their parents find out whether their child has passed the year or not, suicide helplines are being inundated with calls from unhappy or depressed students.
Before you feel that failing your matric year is cause to do something unimaginable, check out these super successful multimillionaires who didn’t achieve their matric certificate or the equivalent.
Richard Branson, founder of the Branson Centre in Braamfontein and Virgin Group, which includes 200 companies across 30 countries, dropped out of school at the age of 16 to start an arts and culture magazine called Student. Fast forward 50 years and Branson is now worth more than R62 billion and owns two private islands.
Do you know why Simon Cowell is one of the most feared and respected judges on American Idol? It is because he dropped out of high school at age 16 and has been working at EMI Music since then. Cowell is one of the most impressive men in the music industry and that is due to his extensive years in the industry, despite the fact that he did not receive the equivalent of a matric certificate.
Rapper extraordinaire, Jay Z, is worth more than R7 billion and is married to singer, Beyoncé, one of the most beautiful people in the world, according to People magazine. He achieved this without a Grade 12 certificate.
Actress Catherine Zeta Jones dropped out of school at age 15 to pursue a stage career in London. She is the winner of a number of awards including an Oscar, a Bafta and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Although she did not finish high school, she has achieved things that many people will not.
Finally, President Jacob Zuma, although fast becoming infamous in South Africa, is one of the most successful men in the country. He has six wives, a private jet, an estate worth more than R200 million, he laughs more than any other member of parliament and he did not achieve a matric certificate.
There are many ways and institutions that will assist you to improve your final marks or re-do the year. The most important thing is to do what is best for you.
