Jamie Oliver has said he was ‘dragged’ out of school lessons to go to ‘special needs class’ as he emotionally recalled being mocked for his dyslexia.

The TV chef, 50, was undiagnosed in school which led to him struggling academically and feeling like he was a ‘failure’.

Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty that causes problems with reading, writing and spelling and difficulties with proad More

Opening up about his difficult days in school, Jamie said he was ‘lucky’ to discover cooking as his ‘passion in life’ at such an early age.

He added: ‘I found school a real challenge. I was constantly dragged out of class to go down the corridor to my ‘special needs’ class, and my peers constantly took the mickey out of me.

‘But I was OK, because out of school I had cooking. Cooking was the thing that gave me drive, gave me confidence, hope, and made me believe in my very young self and my worth in the world.

Jamie Oliver has said he was ‘dragged’ out of school lessons to go to ‘special needs class’ as he emotionally recalled being mocked for his dyslexia

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‘I was lucky. What school eroded away, I found in the kitchen.’

The dad-of-five was speaking ahead of the launch of his brand new children’s cookbook series, Little Food Library, which is aimed at kids between two and four.

His first four titles will launch worldwide on October 9, giving kids step-by-step recipes they can follow with their parents.

Previously speaking about his childhood, Jamie revealed how he was cruelly called a ‘stupid dunce’ at school and his learning issues left him feeling ‘worthless, stupid and thick’.

Meanwhile, Jamie recently shared how his former model wife Jools is neurodivergent – after confirming that some of the couple’s children have also been diagnosed.

He spoke to Davina McCall on her podcast Begin Again and admitted Jools’ condition can make life ‘really challenging’.

Jamie told Davina: ‘She’s quite in the background and she’s done that on purpose. She’s definitely the rock.

‘She’s got incredible instinct, she’s incredibly kind, very funny. I love her to bits. I can’t really talk for her but she has neurodiversities that make her life really interesting and really challenging.

Opening up about his difficult days in school, Jamie said he was ‘lucky’ to discover cooking as his ‘passion in life’ at such an early age

Jamie recently shared how his former modelife Jools is neurodivergent – after confirming that some of the couple’s children have also been diagnose