When educational standards appear to rise - as has happened this week with publication of the A-level results - it is fairly predictable that a cry of "Fix!" will be heard. Some people cannot believe that things genuinely could improve.

However, perhaps even the most avowed sceptics will be persuaded to take the higher pass rate for A-levels seriously given that they come with a plausible explanation: that the intermediate AS-level exams are filtering out those subjects in which students could be expected to do badly at A-level.

It would be a shame if doubts about the validity of the results was allowed to undermine the many success stories which, in Bradford as anywhere else, are the result of a great deal of hard work by students and their teachers, often with the support of their families.

Congratulations to all those local teenagers who today face a brighter future thanks to the excellent grades they have achieved. They are a credit to themselves and hopefully will go on to be an asset to Bradford, which needs well-educated, talented young people to carry it forward.

Among the individual stories we highlight today is that of Emmeline Parsons, whose ambition to become a nurse was threatened when she became pregnant at 16. Far from abandoning her plans, Emmeline continued with her studies alongside her motherhood duties, achieved remarkable results in her A-levels, and now hopes to become a doctor.

Her success - admittedly achieved with a lot of support from her parents and teachers, but also through her own determination - serves as an example of how a setback to early plans need not necessarily mean the end of the educational road.