COVERING the exam results in Ludlow and south Shropshire and at Tenbury High School evoked a mix of emotions.

There was a touch of envy at young people setting out upon their lives and so many of them with good results.

On top of this was relief, both for the young people and their teachers, because once again the results were good. But setting the bar ever higher means a further ramping up of pressure and, come 2017, the tail chasing will start again.

What was interesting is that nationally the seemingly never-ending story of improvements year after year did not happen but ‘our’ schools continued to get better.

One sadness is that covering education is ever more like reporting economics - ever more figures with percentages against last year, national performance and personal targets.

It was hard not to feel that young people are largely marketing tools used by schools that are ever more run like businesses.

The top performers were lined up like show ponies but it was hard not to feel that many of the biggest success were untold, from students that may not have got the highest marks but have overcome challenges and adversity.

For a small number of students, the good results will open the gates to excellent opportunities in further and higher education that will lead to good, well-paid jobs.

But for many, sadly, it will open the road to massive debt and doubtful qualifications that, in too many cases, will hardly be worth the paper they are written on.

For those that get jobs, they will all too probably be insecure and make long-term financial planning difficult.

Even for many who go on to join the professions the dream of owning a home of their own will remain just that unless they are amongst the fortunate few or able to get help from the ‘The Bank of Mum of Dad'.

How different it was a generation ago when people who now live in middle-age were getting their exam results.

Forty years ago, a good set of GCSE or, more accurately, O-levels as they were known then, would lead to a decent job perhaps in a bank or similar institution or lead to an apprenticeship, most probably in engineering or manufacturing.

A relatively small number of 16 year-olds would go on to do A-levels and the real elite, the cream of the crop, would end up in university doing a degree.

Now it is all so different and while there are still some ‘gold standard’ degrees from top universities, the truth is that graduates are ‘ten-a-penny’ these days.

With a degree will come massive debt but in many cases the graduate will be no more suitable for employment than anyone else. And for a lot of young graduates just getting a job – any job – will be an achievement.

So while it is easy to feel envy at the youth of those who have just collected their exam results, for other reasons concern and pity is also an understandable emotion.

It is also chilling to reflect that the life chances of this generation of young people will be hugely shaped by the Brexit vote in which they had no say but that was to a large extent determined by many who will be ‘pushing up daisies’ long before the school and college leavers on 2016 are anywhere near middle age.