The reform of education and training at 16+ is the subject of lively debate. Politicians, employers, teachers, parents - all have prescriptions. This book aims to inform the debate by describing the choices that young people make within the present system, and the consequences of those choices. The book is based on a very large continuing survey of young people in England and Wales, the Youth Cohort Study. It traces the fortunes of five national cohorts who reached 16 between the mid-1980s and early 1990s, following each group through their first few years after compulsory schooling.