Editor: Another results day where nothing is as we expected

I’m not sure if matters if they were GCSEs, O-Levels or A-Levels – the pressure on teenagers to get the right grade was and is enormous.

Even if you had been a super-swot and done everything asked of you by the teachers, there is still a knee-wobbling moment when you wonder if you have done enough.

And, of course, there are those of us who always knew we hadn’t put in enough effort but only start to care as results day approaches.

Perhaps, that pang of nerves would have been better experienced when there was chance to do something about it, ie ahead of the exams.

Every year, I am relieved it isn’t me waiting for those little letters which mean so much. This year, in particular, I have huge sympathy for teenagers who have been through a ridiculous amount of upheaval yet still have to carve out a positive future for themselves.

It doesn’t all come down the grades, as certain millionaires who did very badly at school love to point out. But let’s be honest, qualifications are the one thing that can’t be taken away from you and it always helps to have a good set in your back pocket.

Yet, no matter how today’s generation do, there is a world out there that looks very different from when they started their courses two years ago and it is there for the taking.

We are all doing some things differently now, the world has had to reinvent itself and we all see how desperately this city needs to do the same.

Why shouldn’t that be led by the younger generations?

Today is a day when doors open and, despite it all, we will hear tales of exceptional success regardless of which side of the city youngsters received their education.

It might not be easy but it is possible to excel regardless of what Ofsted says about your school. Individuals matter far more than organisations, and I sincerely hope we won’t see any repeats of the debacle created by government last year around exams. We expect teenagers to learn so surely politicians can too?

Nobody forgets results day – for good or bad – but this year’s classes in particular need it to be smooth and positive.