This study examines the significance of secondary education for lower-class youth by focusing on the self-image they constructed through secondary education. It draws on the youth’s perceptions of their current situation and prospects in urban squatter settlements. It aims to shed light on opportunities beyond obtaining academic qualifications for upward social mobility created by secondary education. The youth who participated in this study would be imagined as either ‘failures’ or ‘halfways’, as indicated by previous studies. This designation stems from the perspective of academic qualifications aimed at advancing higher education and acquiring employment opportunities. However, young people living in squatter settlements can create the perceived self-image they want and the self-image they should have with reference to their academic qualifications and friendships in secondary education. These become essential reference points in the presence of out-of-school friends, girls in squatter settlements engaged only in domestic chores, and parents who have their preferred images of the youth.