Jeremy Clarkson criticised for saying school is 'for smoking and shagging'
The controversial broadcaster thinks kids are under too much pressure at school
Jeremy Clarkson has been criticised for saying school is "for smoking and shagging" as he hit out at the pressure teenagers are put under.
In his column in The Sunday Times, the former Top Gear host urged kids to take school less seriously and have more fun.
He said: "I tell this story to kids, hoping they’ll realise that school is for smoking and shagging, not swotting," referring to his own poor school results, and how he tweets his grades on a yearly basis.
Read more: Clarkson shares annual brag about failing exams
Clarkson added: "But they all have it in their heads that without four A*s and a first from Oxford, they’re going to spend their lives endlessly asking customers if they’ve ever been to a Harvester before. This makes them all unbelievably stressy. If you then throw the teachers strike into the mix, you end up with what we must now call a 'mental health epidemic'."
In response to the piece, many people on social media pointed out Clarkson's privileged upbringing with one saying: "It wasn't so much Clarkson's A Levels as it was his £40K a year school where he grew up with a future producer of Top Gear.
'Also, the Clarksons owe their wealth to Michael Bond granting his mum the initial rights to sell toy Paddington bears rather than suing for infringement."
Another reader echoed similar thoughts: "It’s usually old wealthy guys who hold views like this, they are completely divorced from the reality that young people face in trying to secure employment."
Another said: "Does he just recycle this every year? It’s like hearing your nasty old uncle repeat the same joke a thousand times."
Read more: Jeremy Clarkson reveals obscene vandalism to Diddly Squat Farm sign
The privately educated Clarkson attended Repton School in Derbyshire before starting work as a salesman for his parents' business.
He then trained as a journalist and became a motoring columnist at a variety of regional newspapers before entering the TV business in the late 1980s.
Watch below: Jeremy Clarkson confirms third series of Clarkson's Farm on the way
