Some 217,000 secondary school pupils will hear this afternoon if they have passed their final exams or not.

Just over half the pupils took vocational exams (vmbo), 62,000 took pre-college havo exams and 42,000 are in vwo classes and hoping to go to university. Last year’s pass rate was 92%.

It is a modern tradition in the Netherlands to hang the school bags of the successful teenagers on a flag pole outside the house to mark the end of their school days.

Resits for those who did not make the grade take place between June 17 and 20.