Everyone told me to stay on for A-levels, but sitting still in a classroom was never me. I started a bricklaying apprenticeship with a local firm and learned more in my first month on site than I had in a year of lessons.
What surprised me most was the maths and the planning — there's real craft in getting a wall straight, level and on time. I'm now mentoring the first-years, and I'm saving to start my own company before I'm 25.