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Jamie Oliver candidly discusses learning difficulty ahead of new documentary

The celebrity chef is a household name

Phoebe Tatham
Content Writer
January 15, 2025
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Chef Jamie Oliver has long been vocal about his struggles at school as a result of his dyslexia.

According to The Sun, the household name, 49, is now set to appear in a new Channel 4 documentary exploring dyslexia and its impact on children in the UK.

man on TV show in blue shirt © Shutterstock
Jamie rose to fame after the premiere of his 1999 BBC cooking show, The Naked Chef

Opening up about his own experience, he told the publication: "It's no secret I struggled at school, but I was one of the lucky ones. I knew I wanted to be a chef so I had somewhere to go, catering school, where I could thrive. The kitchen saved me.

"But not everyone is as lucky. What happens to those who don't know where to go?

"We can't leave kids' futures up to luck. We need the education system to update, so everyone has the best possible chance in life."

The father-of-five left school with no qualifications but went on to secure a place at Westminster Catering College, where he nurtured his passion for healthy children's cooking. He has since gone on to carve out a successful career as a TV chef.

Jools and Jamie Oliver at The Bikeriders premiere© Shutterstock
Jamie with his wife Jools

His upcoming documentary is reportedly set to air later this year and will follow Jamie as he examines the school system and how it can be tweaked to better celebrate the diversity of thinking and what constitutes success today.

This isn't the first time Jamie has opened up about his dyslexia and ADHD. To mark ADHD Awareness Month back in 2021, the chef starred in a video in which he candidly discussed his time at school and spoke about the education system.

Recommended videoYou may also likeWATCH: Jamie Oliver speaks out about ADHD and dyslexia

"When I was at school, dyslexia was never really, you were either almost blind or not dyslexic. I was just put in special needs, you know like a thick kid," he said.

"That's why I love the debate about education. Who said education is what we say it is? Like a couple of dudes from 500 years ago sort of set up the structure of it, English, maths, science. Ok, so if you're not good at black and white and traditional academia you're thick, therefore you have no value, so for me personally I've always been passionate since leaving school about different types of intelligence and everyone has the ability to be brilliant.

Jamie Oliver in a suit© Getty Images
The chef has been vocal about his struggles at school with dyslexia

"School really should be about facilitating kids to find their inner genius and inner confidence."

Meanwhile, in 2022, he shared a lengthy message on Instagram Stories in which he addressed his "constant battle" with words and reading and detailed how he often felt "very frustrated and resentful" during his school years.

He later spoke of how he sees his learning difficulty "not as a failure but an opportunity to look at things very differently."

Jamie and Jools Oliver with their brood of five © Ian Lawrence
Jamie and Jools Oliver with their brood of five

What is dyslexia?

Per the NHS website, Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty that mainly causes problems with reading, writing and spelling.

"It's a specific learning difficulty, which means it causes problems with certain abilities used for learning, such as reading and writing. Unlike a learning disability, intelligence isn't affected.

"It's estimated up to 1 in every 10 people in the UK has some degree of dyslexia."

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