TODAY thousands of young people went through a modern rite of passage.

It involved nothing more strenuous than ripping open of an envelope or searching for a name on a noticeboard. But that did not make it any less of an ordeal.

A-level results fulfil hopes and shatter dreams. They are an educational apex, the end of a school journey that began maybe 13 years earlier. They deliver joy and heartache on one frantic morning.

For those that have made the grade, the celebrations have already begun. Plans are excitedly being discussed as the young winners confirm their place on a university course, or accept a job offer.

For the rest, it may seem like their life is over before it has begun. Fortunately, that is far from the truth.

Countless students who did not quite achieve the grades they needed for one degree course can find another through the clearing process. Reports from many successful career men and women who did precisely that confirm that second choice does not mean second best.

Some students failed to get the grades to go through clearing. But even that is not the end of the world: at 18, you have the time to take another year to get the grades you need.

For all A-level recipients help is at hand in the form of various hotlines. They offer expert advice, and are there to be used.

Almost as regular as the A-level results is the inquest into what they tell us. Critics say the exams must be getting easier because this is the 18th consecutive year that grades have improved. Nonsense.

No one says that the 100 metre race is getting easier because athletes are running it faster every year. A-level grades are better thanks to the hard work of teachers and pupils.

These young people who have laboured long hours for their success. They deserve nothing less than our unreserved congratulations.