Post GCSE exams, UK education considers unrelated general courses to student's aimed major(s) as waste of time & burden after age 15 or 16 as in attached related image !
To Nobel Prizes and innovation, another important component is that the United Kingdom offers PhDs by publication, in which the considerations at least ideally, are rigor, originality, and usefulness. Someone without any prior degrees can obtain a PhD in the UK. While in the USA, among other countries, one must always complete the draconian and arbitrary requirement of prior degrees.