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Spring,that time of the year again when attractive middle class girls and boys jump up and down on the national news in celebration of their 15 A-Level passes. Not only are we jealous of their youth, flat tummies and sparkling eyes, but the fact the exams are getting really rather easy, three glorious years of a social degree to come at university for reward in tackling the multi-choice. But putting class and youth envy aside the kids can only pass what's put in front of them (the dim twins from Big Brother got 4 A-levels between them) and if they are doing rather well and working the system then that too shows me the initiative required to get on in life.

Its not that exams are getting easier but they are getting easier to pass. It's all about re-sitting modules, the markets having to turn a blind eye to bad grammar and punctuation, the teachers subliminally teaching the kids the answers. The teachers are told and encouraged' to teach the key points the kids need and if the kids include those catch phrases in the exams then no problemo. The school gets higher passes and so more funding; the government is happy the passes go up year-on-year; and the kids go away to university to get drunk, laid and qualified (in that order) and the middle class right-of-passage is complete.

Teachers and Heads will come on daytime TV and Radio stations and shout their students praises for passing the exams and slam down anyone who says exams are getting easier- then on the late night shows they will let slip the dark arts of fiddling' record number of A-Level students-some 97% passing A-E-and how woefully corrupt this system ultimately is. Some teachers actually have to do the work for the kids to insure minimum pass rates. Isn't it amazing that the random people they pick on live TV & Radio to see what their passes are always seem to have loads of A-passes, which much suggest kids really are getting inflated marks and, of course, it's only the posh kids that get them!

With sciences, math's and English A-Levels entrants tumbling and P.E and Media studies entrants shooting up its pretty clear what the kids want to study-and can you blame them? University wasn't always about careers it was about getting to university because your parents expected it and your piers were all going anyway. But now you and your parents have to pay for it and so I think we will see a very different attitude by mum and dad to little Toby studying Science and Science Fiction at Swansea University. The days

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