Sarah Ferguson’s exam results from 1976 were discovered at her former boarding school, it has been claimed.
Despite being a world bestselling author, the Duchess of York appeared to only pass two O-levels when she attended a private school in Berkshire.
During a renovation of the school, Fergie’s June 1976 University of London results were found in a dusty filing cabinet.
It seems the results were left behind at Hurst Lodge School in Ascot, which moved to a new location five years ago.
Sarah Ferguson’s exam results from 1976 discovered at her former boarding school
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The Duchess of York was a weekly boarder at the school in the early 1970s.
Sarah, 64, who is now a successful novelist, was widely reported to have gained six O-levels when she married into the Royal Family.
The school charged roughly £3,000 in annual fees for weekly boarders, which currently equates to £21,000.
The duchess gained an A in spoken English, which is the equivalent of today’s English oral GCSE.
Sarah Ferguson [R] attended school in the early 1970s
PA
She also got a C in Art, but Ds in English Language, English Literature and Biology, which unfortunately counted as fails. Sarah also failed French and Geography.
A source close to the duchess said: “Academic qualifications are not the be-all and end-all and the duchess is a firm believer in the importance of emotional intelligence and kindness.
“The duchess has always been very open about her lack of a formal education and never made any claims to the contrary.”
They also told The Mail: “Indeed, she is proud of the fact she started out scrubbing toilets for a living and has ended up as a Sunday Times bestselling author in her 60s.”
In her 1996 book My Story, Fergie admitted to struggling in school: “My mind was anywhere but on studies in the summer of 1974.
“Mathematics eluded me, and I laboured on my English but couldn’t concentrate.”
In her 2011 book Finding Sarah: A Duchess’s Journey to Find Herself, she again spoke about her difficulties at school.
She wrote: “I had myself evaluated by experts who confirmed I am ADHD and moderately impaired by dyscalculia [difficulty in understanding numbers].”
Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew made a rare joint appearance at the Sandringham Estate on Christmas Day
PA
The duchess reiterated that one can be “successful” without passing exams.
She added: “I was very successful at school. I was made ‘head girl’ – which is the equivalent of class president.
“I was winning netball captain. I was our class ringleader too, gregarious and dramatic with a flair for stirring up mischief.”
