Ask a parent of a girl aged 16-18 what worries them most and on the list will be the looming HSC or its equivalent, the toxic unknowns of social media (on her ever-present mobile phone), and the swirling ups and downs of her friendship group.

As the father of twin girls in that age bracket, I’ve just come through the dark nights of anxiousness over how to get an essay just right, their isolation of being schooled at home during the pandemic, the on-again, off-again uncertainties imposed by COVID-19, and the deep disappointment of having their graduation – that marker of completing 13 years of education and a relief valve for years of HSC tension – cancelled.