The Scottish government this week published figures showing that a record proportion of school leavers went to university last year, although a smaller proportion than ever joined further education courses.
While 45 per cent of 2020-21 school leavers went into higher education, only 23.3 per cent went into further education, which was “the lowest [figure] on record”, according to the report Summary Statistics for Attainment and Initial Leaver Destinations.
A similar proportion (22.6 per cent) were classed as employed - up from 16.2 per cent the. previous year, when there was a large drop in the proportion of school leavers securing work “reflecting the impact of the coronavirus pandemic...on school leavers’ choices and opportunities”.
Overall, 95.5 per cent of last year’s school leavers - the majority of whom left in S6 - were classed as being in a “positive destination”.
However, in 2017 the Scottish government admitted that young people classed as employed and therefore in a “positive destination” could be on zero-hours contracts, which first minister Nicola Sturgeon has said “demean and exploit” workers.
Disadvantage: Closing the attainment gap
The school leavers least likely to be in a positive destination were those from the most deprived areas - of whom 92.8 per cent were in a positive destination - and those with additional support needs (also 92.8 per cent). However, one children’s organisation said it was “deeply encouraging to see an increase in the percentage of school leavers with ASN in a positive destination”.
Three of the measures published yesterday are used by the government to track its progress in closing the disadvantage-related attainment gap.
The 2020-21 school leaver attainment figures come with a health warning because the way in which students were assessed changed as a result of the pandemic, but the attainment gap narrowed across all three measures at Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) 4, 5 and 6 - although it remained wide particularly in terms of the proportion of students achieving at least one Higher (or equivalent qualification).
Just short of half of last year’s school leavers from the most deprived areas (49.5 per cent) achieved at least one Higher (or equivalent) - but 83.9 per cent from the least deprived areas reached this level of attainment.
Here are the key figures from the report:
- 50,746 - The number of students who left school in 2020-21, up from 47,454 the previous year when fewer S4 and S5 students left school “than might have been expected”.
- 95.5% - The proportion of 2020-21 school leavers in a positive destination three months after leaving school, up from 87.7 per cent in 2009-10 (and 93.3 per cent in 2019-20).
- 45.1% - School leavers in 2020-21 in higher education, up from 36.2 per cent in 2009-10 (and 44.2 per cent in 2019-20).
- 23.3% - School leavers in 2020-21 in further education, down from 26.9 per cent in 2009-10 (and 28.1 per cent in 2019-20).
- 22.6% - School leavers in employment, up from 18.5 per cent in 2009-10 (and 16.2 per cent in 2019-20).
- 83.9% - School leavers from the least deprived areas who left with one or more Higher (or equivalent), up from 72.8 per cent in 2009-10 and 82.7 per cent in 2019-20.
- 49.5% - School leavers from the most deprived areas who left with one or more Higher (or equivalent), up from 27.2 per cent in 2009-10, and 46.6 per cent in 2019-20.
