Joint highest level since records began
The proportion of young people going into education, training or work nine months after finishing school is the joint highest since records began. Additionally, the level of young people from deprived backgrounds going into positive destinations is the highest it has ever been.
The latest Summary Statistics for Follow-up Leaver Destinations for 2024-25, show 93.5% of young people were in positive destinations including training, education, and employment. This is up from 93.1% the previous year. Alongside 2021-22 figures, this represents the joint-highest level since consistent records began.
The proportion of young people from the most deprived backgrounds in a positive follow-up destination is as high as it has ever been. The gap between those leaving school from the most (20%) and least (20%) deprived areas in accessing a positive follow-up destination was 7.6 percentage points. This is narrower than both last year (8.3 percentage points) and the pre-Covid position in 2018-19 (8.4 percentage points).
The increase in school-leavers in reaching positive destinations over the latest year has been driven by a rise in the proportion in Higher Education (from 38.1% to 40.2%) and Further Education (from 21.9% to 22.1%).
Education Secretary Màiri McAllan said: “These figures illustrate that Scotland is amongst the best places for people to start their careers and pursue their life’s passion after finishing school.
“It’s fantastic to see record-high levels of young people going onto training, education, and employment when they leave school. This is testament to the hard work of those young people, teachers and staff that support them.
“Our commitment to free university tuition, generous student support and more apprenticeships means that young people, regardless of the path they choose, have a variety of great opportunities available to them.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition commented: “While it is encouraging to see that the proportion of young people entering education, training or employment nine months after leaving school is at its joint highest level since records began, it is disappointing to see a widening gap between school leavers with additional support needs and those without ASN.
“In academic year 2022/23, the gap between those with ASN and those without ASN entering a positive destination stood at 6.2 percentage points. This has increased to 6.6 percentage points in 2024/25, highlighting that too many young people with additional support needs continue to face barriers to achieving positive outcomes after leaving school.
“These figures demonstrate that, despite overall progress, further action is required to ensure that all young people have equal opportunities to move into education, training or employment. This includes ensuring that children and young people with ASN receive the support they need throughout their education and during the transition from school to adulthood.
“While the overall increase in positive destinations is welcome, these figures underline the need for renewed action to ensure that young people with ASN are not left behind. The Scottish Government and local authorities must work together to ensure that sufficient resources, specialist support and effective transition planning are in place so that every young person has an equal opportunity to achieve their potential.”
