Every year when A-Level results are published, some moaning minnies bleat the predictable and say that exams are getting easier.

Try telling that to Alfred Artley, the 18-year-old who yesterday discovered he had achieved a mind-boggling 10 top A-Level marks - seven of them A grades.

Alfred is so gifted he took three A-Level "add-ons", gaining distinctions in those too.

There was nothing easy about that achievement.

To most us who tackled exams at some stage in our lives, and A-Levels in particular, getting a pass was hard enough.

And, years on, just the thought of a silent exam hall sends shivers down the spine.

Across Oxfordshire, provisional figures indicate a pass rate of 98 per cent - marginally lower than last year.

But today should be a day of celebration for those who ploughed through years of classwork and then hours of revision - and who are now seeing the fruits of their labours.

Some argue there needs to be a way of differentiating between excellent and just good school leavers.

But the truth is, there is no substitute for good old fashioned hard work.

And as for who should go on to university - education should be a birthright, not a privilege.