More school leavers in ‘positive destinations’ but university access gap widens

The proportion of Scottish school leavers in “positive destinations” has increased while the gap between the richest and poorest going to university has widened, figures show.

Statistics released by the Scottish Government on Tuesday show 93.1% of children who left school in 2023-24 were in education or employment within nine months.

That figure was a slight increase from 92.8% the year before.

According to the statistics, 28.8% were in employment, while 21.9% were in college, 2.8% were in training and 0.7% were carrying out voluntary work.

The highest proportion – 38.1% – were at university, up by one percentage point from the previous year.

There was an 8.3% gap in the proportion of youngsters going to positive destinations from the least deprived areas of Scotland when compared to the most.

Despite the increase in the number of youngsters going to university, the gap between the richest and poorest attendees widened.

In 2023-24, 24.6% of university attendees were from the 20% of Scotland’s most deprived areas, compared to 59.3% from the least deprived – a gap of 34.7%.

The year before, the gap sat at 32.5%.

The highest proportion of those from the most deprived areas – 29.9% – went to college, while 27.1% went into work, compared to 12.9% and 22.8% respectively among the most well off.

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said the overalls figures are “at a near-record high”.

She said: “The increase among those in higher and further education is hugely encouraging and testament to the hard work of those young people and the extraordinary support provided by Scotland’s teachers, lecturers and other support staff.

“The gap in positive destinations between young people from our most and least deprived communities has more than halved since 2009-10, but this latest data shows we still have more to do.

“We also know this cohort of young people faced significant disruption to their education during the pandemic.

“A range of support, including from careers advisers and the Developing the Young Workforce network, is available for young people considering their options after school.

“I am determined to ensure young people can access the right help they need to enable them into a positive destination, and this Government will continue to invest in opportunities for young people across Scotland.”

Scottish Labour education spokeswoman Pam Duncan-Glancy said: “Almost 10 years ago, the SNP said closing the attainment gap was its defining mission and John Swinney was the man to do it – but this promise lies in tatters as figures show the poorest pupils are still being failed.

“At a time when we should be working to tackle the shameful inequalities in Scotland’s education system, the SNP is instead leaving Scotland’s most disadvantaged pupils behind.

“The SNP’s failure to create opportunities for young Scots of all backgrounds is shameful, but this is not as good as it gets.”