Summary Statistics for Follow-up leaver Destinations, No. 1: 2019 Edition

Chapter 3: Initial to Follow-up destination comparison

• 96.0 per cent of 2017/18 leavers who were in a positive initial destination   remained in a positive follow-up destination.

A school leaver’s initial destination, three months after they leave school, may differ from their follow-up destination, nine months after they leave school.  Information on the 2017/18 school leavers’ initial destinations was published in February 2019, here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/summary-statistics-attainment-initial-leaver-destinations-1-2019-edition/ 

Chart 3 shows that the percentage of school leavers in a positive follow-up destination (93.2 per cent) was lower than the percentage of school leavers in a positive initial destination (94.4 per cent) in 2017/18.  A similar pattern can be seen across previous school leaver cohorts - the percentage of school leavers in a positive follow-up destinations are lower than the percentage in an initial destination.  The largest reduction between initial and follow-up destinations were in Further Education and Higher Education, by 3.9 and 2.1 percentage points respectively.  Whereas the proportion in Employment increased by 5.7 percentage points between initial and follow-up destination.  

The proportion of leavers in other destinations increased by 1.2 percentage points between Initial and Follow-up.  With Unemployed not seeking increasing by 0.5 percentage points.  A time series of initial and follow-up destinations is available in the supplementary tables.  A list of these tables is available at background note 5.7.

Chart 3: Percentage of school leavers by initial and follow-up destination category, 2017/18

Chart 4 shows the percentage of school leavers whose follow-up destination was the same as their initial destination.  In 2017/18, 96.0 per cent of those in a positive initial destination remained in a positive follow-up destination although some of them will have moved from one positive destination to another.  The largest group of school leavers who remained in the same destination was those in Employment, at 94.6 per cent; closely followed by Higher Education at 94.0 per cent.  School leavers whose initial destination was training were less likely to remain in the same destination.  More information on school leavers who sustained a destination or moved into another destination category is available in the supplementary tables.  A list of these tables is available at background note 5.7.

Chart 4: Percentage of school leavers who sustained a destination, 2017/18