Dyslexic like his dad, Craig struggled with school but showed early self-confidence. (He piloted the family yacht through the San Juan Islands when he was only 14.) In August 1969, when Craig was 19 and a sophomore at Stanford University, his father died of heart failure.

FORBES: "We're On A Collision Course"

The skills and life lessons that teens gain in early work situations can create just as much if not more satisfaction and self-confidence than doing well in school.

FORBES: Fund a Teenager's Million-Dollar Retirement

Christopher Ray, of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, which represents independent school leaders, told BBC News the new system could potentially harm "students who only when they get their AS-level results in Year 12 realise how bright they are, who are perhaps in an underperforming school or college and who suddenly have the self-confidence to aim for the stars".

BBC: A-level plans may 'threaten uptake of tough subjects'