We fit the colour-magnitude diagrams of stars between the zero-age main-sequence and terminal-age main sequence in young clusters and associations. The ages we derive are a factor of 1.5-2 longer than the commonly used ages for these regions, which are derived from the positions of pre-main-sequence stars in colour-magnitude diagrams. From an examination of the uncertainties in the main-sequence and pre-main-sequence models, we conclude that the longer age scale is probably the correct one, which implies that we must revise upwards the commonly used ages for young clusters and associations. Such a revision would explain the discrepancy between the observational lifetimes of protoplanetary discs and theoretical calculations of the time to form planets. It would also explain the absence of clusters with ages between 5 and 30Myr.

Cone search capability for table J/MNRAS/399/432/tables (Fitted data set for 10 clusters (tables 2-11 of the paper))