When I announced to our deputy head that I intended to leave school at 16, she told me, very sagely that "girls who make that decision almost always live to regret it in later life."
Yeah, sure. I have never, for one moment, regretted my decision. Thirty years on, I am happily married (27 years), two happy, grown up kids, and in a job I love (which doesn't pay a mint, but it's enough). I have a degree and a few other qualifications, which I've enjoyed studying for immensely. Basically, I'm a happy, content little bunny.
A quick glance down the Friends Reunited page shows me that those I was at school with (who 'stayed on') are almost all in second or third marriages, or are single (ie divorced), or have finally decided to get out of their high-flying but nevertheless decidedly uninspiring careers. In short, there's not a lot of happiness among them, it seems.