According to Biography, John Lennon was a mischievous student who seemed to bait trouble wherever he could find it. He also drew the ire of teachers and schoolmasters with controversial drawings. Lennon’s patchy school performance is even reflected in one of the songwriter’s early report cards, via Dusty Old Thing. Feedback on the report calls Lennon “an intelligent boy who could do very much better with a little concentration,” and “on the road to failure.” Interestingly, one of the only few positive notes in the report came from his art teacher, offering only “Good work this term.”
Based on that, one of Lennon’s schoolmasters encouraged him to enroll in the Liverpool College of Art. Lennon only just made it in based on test scores, according to Beatles Bible. Even then, Lennon’s academic performance suffered, and he dropped out in his final year to focus on The Beatles. From poor grades to no college diploma, Lennon nevertheless became one of the most well-regarded and influential artists of his generation, proving that there are better measures of intelligence than how well someone does in school.
