New statistics in Scotland show a record high number of school leavers are in “positive destinations” - but also underline that the government’s flagship aim of closing the educational attainment gap between rich and poor has a long way to go.

In 2018, 94.4 per cent of pupils secured a positive destination - including work, training or further study - within three months of leaving school, although the vagueness of this term and insecure nature of some destinations has previously been called into question.

The figures also reveal that the gap between those from the most- and least-deprived communities achieving a positive destination has halved since 2009-10.

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Over the same period, there have been increases at all levels of attainment. For the first time, more than 30 per cent of pupils left school with a minimum of five passes at Higher level or better, up from 22.2 per cent in 2009-10.

Meanwhile, more young people are choosing to remain at school, with almost two-thirds leaving in S6.

Education secretary John Swinney said the statistics were “welcome” and that the shrinking gap between the richest and poorest communities for those getting into positive destinations showed “real-world progress in tackling an age-old problem”.

He added: “At National 4 and 5 level, however, the attainment gap has remained broadly flat over the last two years, which reflects the distance we know we have to go and why we are investing more than £180 million through the Scottish Attainment Challenge in 2019-20 alone.

“The figures published today are encouraging, but we know there is more to do to raise attainment and ensure all our young people have the very best chance to build the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to succeed - regardless of their background.”

Tes Scotland revealed in 2017 that school leavers working on zero-hours contracts were among those being classed as being in a “positive destination”.

Figures consistently show that, despite some progress, gaps in attainment between the most- and least-advantaged pupils in Scotland are proving hard to close.

The number of care leavers in positive destinations, for example, has improved, but campaigners say that much work remains to be done.