Stephen Hawking is basically the poster child for "genius," yet his early school reports were anything but stellar. If you’ve ever felt like a bit of a slacker in class, you’re actually in pretty good company. Most people know him as the brilliant mind in the wheelchair who unlocked the secrets of black holes, but the road he took to get there was honestly kind of messy.
He didn't start out as a child prodigy. Far from it. In fact, Hawking was a late bloomer who famously claimed he didn't even learn to read properly until he was eight years old. So, where did Stephen Hawking go to school, and how did an "unexceptional" kid end up holding Isaac Newton’s old job at Cambridge?
The Early Days: Girls’ Schools and Board Games
It’s a fun piece of trivia that Hawking’s formal education actually started at a girls' school. Because his parents, Frank and Isobel Hawking, valued education above almost everything else, they sent him to the Byron House School in Highgate. When the family moved to St. Albans in 1950, he attended the St. Albans High School for Girls for a short stint. Back then, the school actually accepted younger boys in the primary years.
He wasn't exactly a star pupil. He was consistently ranked near the bottom of his class. His teachers didn't see a legend in the making; they saw a kid who was a bit messy and not particularly focused on his assignments.
But his friends saw something else. They nicknamed him "Einstein." While he was failing to impress his teachers, he and his buddies were busy building a computer out of old telephone switchboards and clock parts. He was obsessed with board games—not just playing them, but inventing incredibly complex ones that required deep logic to win.
The St. Albans Years
After a brief time at Radlett School, he landed at St. Albans School. This is where things started to click, mostly thanks to a math teacher named Dikran Tahta. Hawking actually wanted to study math, but his dad was pushing hard for medicine. Frank Hawking thought there weren't many jobs in math, which is kinda hilarious in hindsight.
💡 You might also like: Mary J Blige Costume: How the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul Changed Fashion Forever
Stephen eventually compromised by focusing on Physics and Chemistry, but he never lost that mathematical itch. By the time he was 17, he was ready for the big leagues, even if his study habits hadn't quite caught up to his brain yet.
The Oxford Era: One Hour of Work a Day
In 1959, Hawking headed off to University College, Oxford. He was only 17, which made him younger than most of his classmates. Honestly, he found the work "ridiculously easy."
He later calculated that he averaged about one hour of study per day during his three years at Oxford. Instead of hitting the books, he spent his time as the coxswain for the college rowing team. Being the "cox" suited him because he wasn't particularly athletic, but he had a loud voice and enjoyed the social prestige that came with the rowing club.
However, his "lazy" approach almost backfired.
To get into Cambridge for his graduate studies, he needed a First-Class honors degree. After his final exams, he was right on the borderline between a First and a Second. This led to a legendary "viva"—an oral exam with the professors.
📖 Related: Mariah Kennedy Cuomo Wedding: What Really Happened at the Kennedy Compound
Hawking didn't hold back. He told the examiners: "If you award me a First, I will go to Cambridge. If I receive a Second, I shall stay in Oxford, so I expect you will give me a First."
They gave him the First.
Cambridge and the PhD That Changed Everything
In 1962, he moved to Trinity Hall, Cambridge. This is where his life took its most dramatic turn. He had hoped to study under the famous Fred Hoyle, but he was assigned to Dennis Sciama instead. At first, Hawking was gutted. But Sciama turned out to be the perfect mentor, giving Hawking the freedom to explore his own wild ideas about the start of the universe.
It was also during his first year at Cambridge that he was diagnosed with ALS (Motor Neurone Disease).
Doctors told him he had two years to live. For a while, he fell into a deep depression. What was the point of finishing a PhD if he wouldn't be alive to use it? But then two things happened: the disease progressed slower than expected, and he fell in love with Jane Wilde.
👉 See also: La verdad sobre cuantos hijos tuvo Juan Gabriel: Entre la herencia y el misterio
Suddenly, he had a reason to work. He poured himself into his thesis, titled "Properties of Expanding Universes." When he finished it in 1966, he didn't just get his degree; he fundamentally changed how we think about the Big Bang.
Life After the Degree: The Lucasian Professor
After getting his PhD, Hawking didn't leave school—he just moved to the front of the classroom. He became a Research Fellow and later a Professorial Fellow at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge.
By 1979, he was named the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. This is one of the most prestigious academic posts in the world. It’s the same chair once held by Sir Isaac Newton. He held that position for 30 years, proving that the kid who couldn't read at age eight and barely studied at Oxford could still become the most famous scientist on the planet.
Academic Milestones at a Glance
- St. Albans School: Where he built his first computer and discovered his love for physics.
- University College, Oxford: Spent three years rowing and barely studying, yet walked away with a First-Class degree.
- Trinity Hall, Cambridge: Where he completed his PhD while battling the early stages of ALS.
- Gonville and Caius College: His academic home for the remainder of his career.
Key Insights for Your Own Journey
Hawking’s path shows that "schooling" isn't always about perfect grades or following the rules. It’s about finding the right environment to let your curiosity run wild. If you're looking to follow in his footsteps—at least the academic ones—here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Don't panic if you're a slow starter. Hawking’s "Einstein" nickname was a joke at first because he wasn't a top student. Success isn't always linear.
- Find your "Dikran Tahta." A single great teacher can change your entire trajectory. Look for mentors who challenge you rather than just giving you answers.
- Leverage your strengths. Hawking knew he wasn't great at memorizing facts, so he chose theoretical physics because it relied on logic and intuition instead.
- Advocate for yourself. That cheeky comment during his Oxford viva is a prime example of knowing your worth and pushing for the opportunity you want.
If you are researching his life for a paper or just out of curiosity, the best next step is to look into his PhD thesis, "Properties of Expanding Universes." It was made open-access by Cambridge a few years ago and actually crashed their website because so many people tried to download it at once. It’s a dense read, but seeing the original math of a 24-year-old Hawking is pretty wild.