While many parents may pressure their children to achieve straight As during their time at school, it appears Gordon Ramsay isn’t one of them. The celebrity chef has opened up about the pressure placed on children and teenagers at school, saying it’s "ridiculous".
Speaking in New York, Gordon was asked to offer some advice for young chefs – although his words of wisdom could be relevant to the majority of teenagers. "I disagree with everybody being judged on one exam. That upsets me, because the pressure on youngsters today is ridiculous. I didn’t peak at 15 and I certainly didn’t peak at 12 and I certainly didn’t peak at 18," he said. "So governed – the way we are – with these ridiculous SATs and GCSEs and A-levels – I think it is wrong to judge individuals on what you can achieve at that time in life."
Gordon Ramsay isn't concerned about his children's exam success
The father-of-four said that learning to cook is completely different from school, and although he wasn’t academic, cooking can teach youngsters a lot about other subjects such as physics and chemistry. "I didn’t do well at school but I did well at cooking. And so I’m grateful for the way I was pushed and I think pushing yourself from 11 is important," Gordon said. "Kids being made to feel inadequate because they can’t study algebra, or they don’t understand how to spell Czechoslovakia by the time they’re 10 is dreadful. Cooking is a great way of experimenting and developing a character. And cooking with no fear is amazing. Baking is chemistry, so forget physics at school."
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Gordon’s words come just weeks after his youngest daughter Matilda, ‘Tilly’, celebrated completing her GCSEs. The budding chef shared her excitement on her Instagram account, postinga picture of her and her dog in the car, captioning it "GCSEs done" accompanied by love heart emojis and a smiley face. Tilly's older sister Holly also congratulated her, sharing a sweet throwback photo of the teenager as a little girl, and writing besides it: "So, so proud of you princess! Congratulations on finishing your GCSEs".
Gordon and his wife Tana are parents to four children
Tilly has certainly got a bright future ahead of her thanks to her successful children's TV show - Matilda and the Ramsay Bunch – which focuses on her and her famous family during their summer holidays in LA, all while Tilly cooks up her favourite recipes for them to enjoy. Tilly has also made several appearance on This Morning alongside her famous dad, and released a cook book – Matilda & The Ramsay Bunch: Tilly’s Kitchen Takeover – in 2017.