Every year A-level results in Sussex get better.

And every year we get people who say this is because the exams are being made easier.

Schools, parents and teachers, for their part, claim students are getting brighter.

Perhaps neither is true.

We are always told making your way in life today relies more than ever on qualifications.

Maybe teenagers are just showing the good sense to prepare themselves better than their predecessors.

After two years of hard work followed by the most nerve-racking exams you'll ever sit, the last thing you need is someone doing down your achievements.

Remember those, too, who don't do as well as they might hope. How do they feel being told things are easier now?

University places, job prospects and personal pride are all laid on the line during A-levels.

Well done to the exam candidates of Sussex for coming through it all so well.

It could be better The National Lottery was ushered in in 1994 as a cure-all for Britain's under-funded voluntary groups and societies.

Millions of pounds have since gone into projects designed to improve the way of life.

But it has thrown even larger amounts at white elephants like the Millennium Dome.

So the possible closure of Lewes, Newhaven, Peacehaven and Telscombe Volunteer Bureaux after a bureaucratic bungle by the Lottery assessor leaves a nasty taste.

Hundred of disabled and elderly people could lose vital help which allows them to carry-out their everyday lives.

Surely, the paperwork impasse can be breached.

While the Lottery puts vast amounts of cash into some showy, pointless and ultimately unsuccessful projects, it should remember that its main reason for existing is to help the people who buy the tickets.

Hot favourite Goons fanatic Les Drew likes nothing better than to stand by an icy cold sea and trying to set fire to it, just like a famous sketch by his comedy heroes.

While he normally does it in winter, perhaps he should look at doing it during summer.

After an appalling summer of drizzle and overcast skies Sussex resorts need any kind of heatwave they can get.