Robbie Williams Aspires to Return to School and Reattempt His GCSEs

Robbie Williams returns to academics

Robbie Williams is going back to school and working on his books, he said.

• READ MORE: Robbie Williams and Director Michael Gracey on Bananas, 'The Best Man' Biopic Featuring a CGI Monkey: 'It's Healing'

Williams, who joined Take That aged 16 while studying for his GCSEs, shared in a new chat with Sun that he is considering resitting his exams after leaving school without any qualifications.

Wants to prove himself academically

He told the publication: “I wanted to start a university but I wouldn’t actually be able to get into one if and when I did because I didn’t get any GCSEs. I didn’t get anything above a D grade, and I failed or didn’t show up for everything else. I really want to go back and get them.”

He further explained that he was undiagnosed with dyslexia, dyscalculia, and ADHD at the time: “I've felt really stupid all my life because in the seventies and eighties in Stoke-on-Trent we didn't know about dyslexia. I have dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADHD, but we didn't have those back then, so I left school thinking I was stupid, and it took a long time to get over that. Now I just want to go and prove a few people wrong – I'm not stupid. Now that I said it, I shit myself…maybe I do!”

Television project in the works

In addition to wanting to resit his GCSEs, Robbie Williams is also considering a television show about his return to school: “I can't remember my English teacher's name, but I thought there might be an interesting TV show this year, where I'll have to go back to school… but obviously in an age-appropriate way.”

Williams revealed his diagnosis of numerical dyslexia in 2020, which left him unable to solve simple math equations and impacted his daily life: “I always have problems because I don’t know my children’s birth dates, I don’t know our anniversary, and I don’t know my birthday. I can't even remember our house in Los Angeles. There are four numbers at the beginning of the address, and I can never remember what those numbers are.”

Despite his dyslexia, ADHD, and poor education, Williams achieved success, transitioning from his time with Take That into a remarkable solo career that has spanned decades. Presently, he is the subject of a biopic titled Best Man, where he is depicted as a computer-generated monkey.

In a conversation with NME about the film, Williams shared his reflections on seeing his life story portrayed: “Tears. And it works. And grief. And healing. And ego. And: ‘Look what happened to me!’ It just depends on which version of me shows up on that particular day – and how much sleep I get.”

“At the moment I just want to take it all into account. I want to drink up every moment I can because now I'm in a place where I can enjoy life. I haven't been able to enjoy life for so long. And I feel like I'm lucky again and I get another piece of the apple.”

In a three-star review of Best Man, Jordan Bassett wrote for NME: “Best Man starts out like a John Lewis advert and turns into an R-rated mishmash that somehow does too much while barely touching the career of Robbie Williams. It's the Rudebox of a movie: some good, some very bad, and all a bit of a mess. However, a musical with monkeys is a big step that no one else would take. You can't fault arrogance or ambition. If he returns the stated budget, we will eat $110 million worth of bananas.”