BACK PAGE: Last word

I'm having a bit of a clearout at home. I'm still only halfway through because it's a bigger job than I originally thought. Although I'm super-organised at work, my idea of paper management at home is a couple of drawers stuffed full of old wage slips, gas bills and reminders from the dentist. The rule of thumb is this: if you can still manage to jam the drawers shut, then there is simply no need to tidy up yet.

This week the drawers just wouldn't shut. It's all got a bit out of control.

So I started clearing them out. And then, right at the bottom of the drawers, the place where you find Visa bills going back 10 years, I came across the dreaded old school stuff.

I claim to be a "late developer". And looking at my GCSE and A-level Certificates I can see why. After two years of A-level study I managed two "Near Misses" (not-very-secret code for fail) and a "D" in geography. The fact the exam boards actually gave me a certificate with "Near Miss" on is bizarre in itself.

I mean, who would get that out at a job interview? And I think I have a pretty good idea how many points a "Near Miss" is worth on your UCAS university admission form.

The truth is it was a minor miracle I didn't become what would now be called a "NEET". For those of you who have not come across this term yet (and I can't believe there is anyone left who hasn't), it stands for Not in Education, Employment or Training. The word has become so widespread it's only a matter of time before it makes it into the Oxford English Dictionary. NEET. Noun. To be without education, employment or training, especially afflicting those aged 13 to 19.

NEET is definitely a word of our time. This one little word describes something we should rightly be focusing a great deal of our attention on. But it's not like ethnicity or age. It's not a characteristic.

It doesn't tell you anything about the person or what's happening in their life. It's just a place any one of us can visit.