London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Nov 18, 2025

Harrison McDonald: The 16-year-old DJ juggling gigs and GCSEs

Harrison McDonald: The 16-year-old DJ juggling gigs and GCSEs

"I just couldn't wait for the invigilator to end the exam so I could be on my way to the airport," says Harrison McDonald.

Like many other 16-year-olds, he was sitting his GCSE exams this summer - unlike the others he was flying off afterwards to DJ in front of 100,000 people at a gig in Paris.

Once his chemistry test finished, he picked up his luggage from the back of the exam hall and headed straight to the airport.

"It was like chalk and cheese," he says. "Starting the day of in a dead silent, tense hall where you could hear a pin drop to barely hearing myself think over the bass during the festival".

He has been DJing since the age of 11 after a clip of him went viral and plays gigs regularly in his home city of Liverpool and abroad.

He's played alongside established names such as Liverpudlian singer-songwriter Jamie Webster - who went to Harrison's secondary school years before - and rock band The Lightning Seeds.

Nerves don't affect him before gigs: "I thrive off the people there. I guess the only thing that may concern me is picking the right song but it's great when it fills the dance floor".

His musical journey began as he was starting secondary school when his father bought him some equipment


Despite an intense schedule with bookings each week, he doesn't feel the pressure.

"Due to gigs being on the weekend, balancing is never really an issue".

He makes an effort to prioritise education alongside his DJ career: "I think it's important to make the time to revise especially when I have various gigs within exam season".

Being able to get that balance right is something he puts down to support from his school and his family.

"I have to be thankful to my school who set up a club called 'revise till 5' which meant that I had the opportunity to get quality revision in right after school, which then gives me the time to prepare for gigs."

Harrison says he tries to ensure he has time to be "a normal teenager" and meets up with friends, especially in the exam season. "It gives your mind something else to think about instead of covalent bonds," he says, referring to his chemistry studies.

As a Liverpool football fan, Harrison says his dream goal would be the chance to play for the players


His musical journey began as he was starting secondary school when his father bought him some equipment: "I am very grateful that my dad has provided me a platform to do what I love.

"I owe it all to my dad really, he got me lessons and pushed me to become the best I can. I'm very appreciative of what he has done for me."

His advice to young people would be "just do it, as many people contemplate pursuing something and never do. Becoming a DJ has given me so many fantastic opportunities."

He's spending the rest of the summer in Ibiza on various residencies, and in September will launch a radio show from Dubai, which he is particularly excited about. "I have never had to speak in any of my gigs so I can't wait to be able to interact with my audience," he says.

As a Liverpool football fan, he says his dream goal would be the chance to play for the players: "I think within the dressing room there are some good characters who would be dancing to my funky house beats".

Like his peers he has to wait until August for GCSE results. So how does he feel about what lies ahead?

"After an exam, I have to try and never think about it again. I'll never see the paper again and what's done is done. I shouldn't worry because the outcome will still be the same."


The school where pupils learn to DJ


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Unveils Sweeping Asylum Reforms with 20-Year Settlement Wait and Conditional Status
UK Orders Twitter Hacker to Repay £4.1 Million Following 2020 High-Profile Breach
Popeyes UK Eyes Century Mark as Fried-Chicken Chain Accelerates Roll-out
Two-thirds of UK nurses report working while unwell amid staffing crisis
Britain to Reform Human-Rights Laws in Sweeping Asylum Policy Overhaul
Nearly Half of Job Losses Under Labour Government Affect UK Youth
UK Chancellor Reeves Eyes High-Value Home Levy in Budget to Raise Tens of Billions
UK Urges Poland to Choose Swedish Submarines in Multi-Billion € Defence Bid
US Border Czar Tom Homan Declares UK No Longer a ‘Friend’ Amid Intelligence Rift
UK Announces Reversal of Income Tax Hike Plans Ahead of Budget
Starmer Faces Mounting Turmoil as Leaked Briefings Ignite Leadership Plot Rumours
UK Commentator Sami Hamdi Returns Home After US Visa Revocation and Detention
UK Eyes Denmark-Style Asylum Rules in Major Migration Shift
UK Signals Intelligence Freeze Amid US Maritime Drug-Strike Campaign
TikTok Awards UK & Ireland 2025 Celebrates Top Creators Including Max Klymenko as Creator of the Year
UK Growth Nearly Stalls at 0.1% in Q3 as Cyberattack Halts Car Production
Apple Denied Permission to Appeal UK App Store Ruling, Faces Over £1bn Liability
UK Chooses Wylfa for First Small Modular Reactors, Drawing Sharp U.S. Objection
Starmer Faces Growing Labour Backlash as Briefing Sparks Authority Crisis
Reform UK Withdraws from BBC Documentary Amid Legal Storm Over Trump Speech Edit
UK Prime Minister Attempts to Reassert Authority Amid Internal Labour Leadership Drama
UK Upholds Firm Rules on Stablecoins to Shield Financial System
Brussels Divided as UK-EU Reset Stalls Over Budget Access
Prince Harry’s Remembrance Day Essay Expresses Strong Regret at Leaving Britain
UK Unemployment Hits 5% as Wage Growth Slows, Paving Way for Bank of England Rate Cut
Starmer Warns of Resurgent Racism in UK Politics as He Vows Child-Poverty Reforms
UK Grocery Inflation Slows to 4.7% as Supermarkets Launch Pre-Christmas Promotions
UK Government Backs the BBC amid Editing Scandal and Trump Threat of Legal Action
UK Assessment Mis-Estimated Fallout From Palestine Action Ban, Records Reveal
UK Halts Intelligence Sharing with US Amid Lethal Boat-Strike Concerns
King Charles III Leads Britain in Remembrance Sunday Tribute to War Dead
UK Retail Sales Growth Slows as Households Hold Back Ahead of Black Friday and Budget
Shell Pulls Out of Two UK Floating Wind Projects Amid Renewables Retreat
Viagogo Hit With £15 Million Tax Bill After HMRC Transfer-Pricing Inquiry
Jaguar Land Rover Cyberattack Pinches UK GDP, Bank of England Says
UK and Germany Sound Alarm on Russian-Satellite Threat to Critical Infrastructure
Former Prince Andrew Faces U.S. Congressional Request for Testimony Amid Brexit of Royal Title
BBC Director-General Tim Davie and News CEO Deborah Turness Resign Amid Editing Controversy
Tom Cruise Arrives by Helicopter at UK Scientology Fundraiser Amid Local Protests
Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson Face Fresh UK Probes Amid Royal Fallout
Mothers Link Teen Suicides to AI Chatbots in Growing Legal Battle
UK Government to Mirror Denmark’s Tough Immigration Framework in Major Policy Shift
UK Government Turns to Denmark-Style Immigration Reforms to Overhaul Border Rules
UK Chancellor Warned Against Cutting Insulation Funding as Budget Looms
UK Tenant Complaints Hit Record Levels as Rental Sector Faces Mounting Pressure
Apple to Pay Google About One Billion Dollars Annually for Gemini AI to Power Next-Generation Siri
UK Signals Major Shift as Nuclear Arms Race Looms
BBC’s « Celebrity Traitors UK » Finale Breaks Records with 11.1 Million Viewers
UK Spy Case Collapse Highlights Implications for UK-Taiwan Strategic Alignment
On the Road to the Oscars? Meghan Markle to Star in a New Film
×