You may have heard lots of stories about the Beatles in their school days. However, which one of these are true? Who was the only Beatle to graduate from school.
Well, if you are looking for the real story and some proper answers, here they are…
Who Was the Only Beatle to Graduate High School?
According to reports, all four Beatles – Paul, George, John, and Ringo – did their O Levels which means that they completed two years of secondary school – but it is believed that only Paul McCartney completed high school and had a shot of moving onto university.
Understanding The Beatles Academic Careers
There are two key details to remember here. First, the UK school system and US school system is quite different to one another.
There is no high school in England, per se. Instead, there is secondary school. As in the US, this school consists of four years. Unlike in the US, you spend the first two years studying for your O Levels and the final two years studying for your A Levels.
To move onto university in the UK, you do have to complete A Levels. However, even completing your O Levels is enough of a sign that you have completed the minimum education requirements in the UK.
This means that although most of the Beatles didn’t technically graduate from high school, they aren’t considered drop outs by the UK standard.
They may not have done well in their O Levels, but they still completed a necessary stage of education.
The other thing to keep in mind here is that there is a lot of misinformation regarding the early years of the Beatles lives. As they were ordinary people at this point, few people documented much about them, including their academic careers.
Due to this, you will often find conflicting reports about how much schooling each of the Beatles members got through as well as how well they did.
How Many Beatles Completed Their Secondary Education?
As far as anyone can tell, it appears that only John Lennon and Paul McCartney finished secondary school.
Paul McCartney was an especially gifted student. He was one of the few students at the time to be accepted into a Grammar School.
This meant that he had to pass a series of tests before he was accepted, earning him a position as one of the more intellectually gifted individuals in the region.
McCartney went on to do his O Levels and then proceeded with his A Levels in both Art as well as English. There are conflicting reports about how well he did in either of those subjects.
If he hadn’t gone onto be a musician, he was poised to consider teaching.
It is believed that John Lennon failed all off his O Levels. Despite this, it was quite clear that he had a creative streak.
Due to this, he was accepted to an Art College. Now, unlike in the US, college is a continuation of secondary education not a tertiary one. It tends to be an alternative to the traditional A Levels.
Education wasn’t in the books for Lennon, though, as he was kicked out before he could complete much of his education here.
Why Did George and Ringo Not Graduate from High School?
It would appear that the biggest issue with George Harrison was that he didn’t enjoy school and, as such, didn’t apply himself as well as he should have.
Unlike with the other Beatles, there isn’t much information regarding his school life or his academic career. It would appear that while he certainly wasn’t winning any awards, he wasn’t considered a troublemaker either.
As for Ringo, his academic limitations were likely beyond his control. He was very sickly as a child, having to miss school for long periods at a time. He even had to be extensively hospitalized for a while, too.
Ringo also came from a rather poor family and they didn’t have the means to hire him a tutor or to ensure that he caught up with the work that he missed.
This contributed to the fact that he didn’t do well in school. He also didn’t show much inclination towards studying either.
Did Any of the Beatles Apply or Graduate from Music School?
Almost all of the Beatles showed an interest in music at a relatively young age. In fact, this was one of the reasons that they were distracted from school so often.
They all considered pursuing a musical career before they finished school.
Despite this, none of the Beatles actually received a formal education in music – not even in school. This is interesting to learn because according to the stories, all the boys had the opportunity to be tutored in music.
They appeared to turn this down in favor of learning instruments on their own. This was probably because they wanted to learn to create their own style of music.
Needless to say, this train of thought paid off when the boys went on to be one of the most influential bands for many generations to come.
Were Any of the Beatles More Intelligent Than the Other?
Once again, there is a great deal of speculation here. However, much of these presumptions are based on stereotypes that people had of the band.
As Paul and John were often the centers of attention and much of the lyrics of songs were attributed to them, it was believed that they were the more intelligent or creative members of the band.
Nevertheless, George Harrison contributed some lovely songs and Ringo held his own in the band. They were also both known to be witty in their own way.
Therefore, it is difficult to know if one of the Beatles was truly more intelligent than the others or if it was all down to perception.
Was There Only One Beatle to Graduate from High School?
There is some confusion here – all the members of the Beatles completed their education according to the requirements set by the UK but based on the reports, it appears that Paul McCartney was the only one to take his A Levels making him the only graduate.
