Smithers was born in the East End of London, the son of a Billingsgate fish porter.

[1] His mother worked in a sweet factory, and he claims he lived on fish and Turkish delight during the war.

[1] He was educated at Barking Abbey Grammar School then King's College London, gaining a first class honours degree BSc and a PhD in plant physiology in 1966.

[2] He became involved in education as a subject when, in the 1960s, the University of London, where he lectured, began introducing modular degrees.

[4] He claims to be apolitical, believing that close association with any one party compromises the objectivity of the research.