Whether we like it or not we are all judged one way or another. Appraisal is constant, be it a school report, a kind remark about our appearance, a wolf whistle from a building site, a round of applause or the middle finger of a fellow road user. It happens all the time.

The end-of-term report at school is probably the first experience we have of being ranked against our peer group. Usually there's a term position reflecting course work plus an additional exam ranking. In national examinations at school and university there is a broader standard. Then we leave education and everything changes.