But at a time like this, I can't help thinking about all the kids who didn't get this far in their schooling, and what that will mean for them in the long run.

Number One Son is well suited to the academic rigours of high school, both in temperament and ability. Given that school is where - by and large - we expect young people to spend the bulk of their teenage years, it helps if you can fit into the expectations there.

But what if you don't?

This week has also been a big one for Greta Thunberg, the 16 year-old Swedish environmental activist who addressed the UN Climate Action Summit in New York.

She's taken a year off school (after striking weekly the previous school year) to advance the cause. She's clearly one of the most articulate and intelligent 16 year-olds on the planet - if anyone can cope with time out from the school system, it's Ms Thunberg.

Meanwhile, there are 16 year-olds I know who have left school behind permanently. One walked straight into a TAFE course and an apprenticeship, and is on track to earn a good living and (according to him) get richer than all his friends. Good luck to him.

Most kids who leave school early aren't like that. Many regret it in later years, when they realise they have shut off some options, or at least, increased the time and effort it will take to reach their changing goals.

Keeping kids in school when they don't want to be there is pretty torturous. None of them think it will be them who gets stuck stacking shelves for the rest of their lives, but - statistically - at least some of them are wrong.

I don't think completing Year 12 is necessarily the key to a glittering future, but at the very least it gives teenagers a place to be and something to do while their brain develops a bit more.

Then they can really make some choices about their future.