Being 'useless' in school helped Simon Cowell

Los Angeles: Music mogul Simon Cowell says being 'useless' in school and pure 'luck' brought him fame and fortune, but the comment has left people angry.

The 54-year-old, who has netted £200 million with hit shows like 'The X Factor', said in a radio interview: "I didn't work hard when I was at school. I left at 16 and I didn't have any qualifications. I was useless. The secret is to be useless at school and then get lucky."

But Cowell's attitude has left people angry, reports dailystar.co.uk.

Labour councillor Michael Pavey insisted education was 'vitally important'.

"I think Simon Cowell has been lucky. It's one-in-a-billion that gets a chance like that. The rest of us need to work hard with our teachers," Pavey said.