I remember a university friend, now  a prominent politician, confiding in me that what kept him awake at night, and drove him fiercely onward careerwise, was the fear that he would end up begging on the streets. I’m not quite sure where this notion came from since it never seemed a particularly likely outcome. It was obvious, to others if not to him, that he had the talent and the character to succeed in several different fields; and in any case I always thought he would have made an excellent driving instructor.

But that time when you are suddenly faced with having to choose what to do in the world, after years of cossetting at school and university, is undoubtedly difficult – not least for those who have excelled at school but have to realise that life is not a matter of passing exams.