ONCE again, Jersey A-level students have produced examination results which are excellent and astounding. Of those who sat this year’s papers, 99.6 per cent passed and very nearly 30 per cent secured A grades.

Their achievement, therefore, puts UK results in the shade, though these were impressive enough, with an overall pass rate of 97.5 per cent and an A-grade rate only three per cent below the Island’s.

All those students who are now breathing lengthy sighs of relief in the knowledge that the exams, and the trials of waiting for results, are well and truly behind them, deserve congratulations. If, however, the performance of a single school is to be commented on, it must be Jersey College for Girls, where the pass rate was 100 per cent.

Islanders should, meanwhile, be aware that the success of our students is founded not only on their efforts – magnificent as they undoubtedly are – but also on the dedication of teaching staff who guide their charges so carefully through their courses and coach them so effectively for the final tests that they face.

It is also true to say that the structures in which students and teachers work play their part in shaping success on such a grand scale. Our schools are manifestly excellent, as is the educational system in which they function. Behind-the-scenes administrators can, therefore, line up for their share of the plaudits.

The next big question for those who have survived trial by A-level is, of course, what next? In the present circumstances, answers might appear to be harder to find than is ordinarily the case, because of job market conditions and fiercer than usual competition for places in further education.

In spite of this, encouraging noises are coming from Careers Jersey, a body eager to offer as much support as possible to those leaving education and looking for work. In addition, careers advisers stress that Jersey students are in a better position than most when it comes to finding university places.

The Island’s financial commitment to those who go on to study in the UK is valued by seats of learning, which, as a result, look with special favour on our applicants.

It will have escaped few people’s notice that expenditure on education – both here and when students move into the UK system – accounts for a major part of public spending. No one should begrudge this. What we are collectively buying is not only the future of our young people, but also the future success and prosperity of our entire community.