Summary Statistics for Attainment and Initial Leaver Destinations, No. 7: 2025 edition

Section 4. School leaver attainment in National Qualifications

The statistics in Section 4 relate to attainment in the National Qualifications provided by SQA. These are National Courses (e.g. National 5, Higher, Advanced Higher) and Skills for Work. There is more information in Section 1.3. They refer to all school leavers from mainstream schools, including S3, S4, S5, S6 and ‘other’ stages.

As described in Section 1.4, the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) led to changes in how National Qualifications were assessed and graded in the years 2020 to 2023. This should be kept in mind when comparing between years. A dashed line break in the series between 2018-19 and 2019-20 is shown to highlight where the changes in assessment happened.

Section 4.1 School leaver attainment in National Qualifications

In 2023-24, 2.4 per cent of school leavers had a highest qualification level of SCQF Level 3, 11.7 per cent had their highest qualification at Level 4 and 26.2 per cent at SCQF Level 5.

38.0 per cent of 2023-24 school leavers had a highest qualification level of SCQF Level 6, a slight increase from 2022-23 when the figure was 37.7 per cent. However, compared to 2018-19, (41.4 per cent), the proportion has decreased.

In 2023-24, 19.3 per cent of school leavers had their highest qualification at SCQF Level 7. This is a decrease from 2022-23 (20.3 per cent) but an increase when compared to 2018-19 (19.1 per cent).

A small proportion (2.4 per cent) of school leavers attained no passes in National Qualifications at SCQF Level 3 or better in 2023-24. This has increased slightly as a proportion from 2022-23 (2.2 per cent). Some of these school leavers have attainment either in courses at SCQF Levels 1 or 2, or in courses/units not covered in these statistics (such as National Progression Awards, National Certificates and Awards). Details can be found in Supplementary Tables N1.4a and N1.4b.

A full time series of the highest SCQF Level achieved by school leavers in National Qualifications since 2009-10 can be found in Supplementary Table 4.

Chart 8: The proportion of school leavers who left school with one pass or more at SCQF level 6 or better has decreased slightly in recent years

Percentage of school leavers by highest SCQF Level achieved under the National Qualifications measure, 2018-19 to 2023-24

In 2023-24, 83.5 per cent of school leavers left with one pass or more at SCQF Level 5 or better, and 57.4 per cent left with one pass or more at SCQF Level 6 or better. These proportions have both decreased from 2022-23, when 84.8 per cent of school leavers left with one pass or more at SCQF Level 5 or better, and 57.9 per cent left with one pass or more at SCQF Level 6 or better. The 2023-24 proportions also show a decrease when compared to 2018-19, when 85.1 per cent of school leavers left with one pass or more at SCQF Level 5 or better, and 60.5 per cent left with one pass or more at SCQF Level 6 or better.

The change in the make-up of the school leaver cohort in 2023-24 compared to recent years may have had an effect on overall school leaver attainment. As described in Section 2.1, 2023-24 saw a lower proportion of S6 school leavers and increased proportions of S4 and S5 leavers compared to recent years. Those leaving in earlier stages may be less likely to leave with qualifications at higher SCQF levels than those leaving in S6.

A time series from 2009-10 to 2023-24 is presented in Table 5 and 5a in the supplementary tables.

Table 2: Total leaver attainment under the National Qualifications measure, percentage of leavers, 2024

[low] = value less than 0.05 per cent but greater than zero. See the ‘Glossary and symbols used’ Section for a list of all symbols used in the tables.

Section 4.2 School leaver attainment in National Qualifications, by deprivation

As outlined in Section 3.3, the National Improvement Framework monitors the poverty-related attainment gap based on a basket of key measures. Three of these measures are based on school leaver attainment by deprivation, namely:

• The proportion of leavers attaining one pass or more in National Qualifications at SCQF Level 4 or better
• The proportion of leavers attaining one pass or more in National Qualifications at SCQF Level 5 or better
• The proportion of leavers attaining one pass or more in National Qualifications at SCQF Level 6 or better

As described in Section 1.4, there were changes in the way in which many qualifications were assessed and graded in the years 2020 to 2023, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore care should be taken when making comparisons. Any increase or decrease should not be interpreted as indicating improving or worsening performance without further evidence.

At SCQF Level 4 or better, the gap between the proportion of school leavers from the most and least deprived areas attaining 1 pass or more in National Qualifications was 7.3 percentage points. This is wider than in 2022-23, when it was 5.9 percentage points. The proportion attaining 1 pass or more in National Qualifications at this level decreased for school leavers from the most deprived areas between 2022-23 and 2023-24 but stayed the same for school leavers from the least deprived areas. This has led to the gap between the two groups widening. 

Longer term, the gap at SCQF Level 4 or better has narrowed most years, starting from 11.3 percentage points in 2009-10 and reaching its narrowest in 2021-22 (5.8 percentage points). In 2023-24 the gap at SCQF Level 4 is at its widest since 2011-12.

At SCQF Level 5 or better, the gap was 22.7 percentage points in 2023-24. This is wider than in 2022-23 (20.2 percentage points). The proportion attaining 1 pass or more in National Qualifications at this level decreased for school leavers from both the most and the least deprived areas between 2022-23 and 2023-24. But it decreased by more for those from the most deprived areas, which has led to the gap between the two groups widening.

Longer term, the gap has narrowed most years, starting from 33.3 percentage points in 2009-10 and reaching its narrowest in 2020-21 (18.2 percentage points). In 2023-24, the gap at SCQF Level 5 is at its widest since 2013-14.  

At SCQF Level 6 or better, the gap was 38.4 percentage points in 2023-24. This is wider than in 2022-23 (36.9 percentage points). The proportion attaining 1 pass or more in National Qualifications decreased for school leavers from the most deprived areas between 2022-23 and 2023-24 but increased for those from the least deprived areas, which has led to the gap between the two groups widening.

Longer term, the gap has narrowed most years, starting from 45.6 percentage points in 2009-10 and reaching its narrowest in 2020-21 (34.4 percentage points). In 2023-24, the gap at SCQF Level 6 is at its widest since 2015-16.  

A full time series for attainment at SCQF Level 4 or better, SCQF Level 5 or better and SCQF Level 6 or better since 2009-10 under the National Qualifications measure is available in Table N1.2 in the supplementary tables.

Chart 9: The attainment gap has widened at SCQF Levels 4 to 6 compared to last year

Percentage of school leavers by attainment at SCQF Level 4 to 6 or better under the National Qualifications measure, by SIMD quintile, 2018-19 to 2023-24

pp = percentage point difference between most and least deprived quintile.

Section 4.3 School leaver attainment in National Qualifications, by pupil characteristic

Female pupils are continuing to outperform male pupils in National Qualifications at SCQF Levels 4 to 6 or better, with the gap being wider at higher SCQF levels.

Asian-Chinese pupils continue to have high levels of attainment compared to other groups, with 87.1 per cent achieving one pass or more in a National Qualification at SCQF Level 6 or better.

Pupils with a recorded Additional Support Need (ASN) are less likely to achieve National Qualifications at SCQF Levels 4 to 6 or better than pupils without an ASN. Similarly, pupils who are declared or assessed disabled are less likely to achieve SCQF Levels 4 to 6 or better than pupils who are not. The number of pupils with a recorded ASN has increased markedly over recent years (see table 1.5 of the pupil census supplementary tables) These increases were likely due in part to continued improvements in recording and the introduction of the additional need types ‘Child Plans’ and ‘Other’ in 2011. This should be kept in mind when interpreting attainment data by Additional Support Needs.

In 2023-24 pupils living in Accessible Rural areas and Remote Rural areas are the most likely to achieve National Qualifications at SCQF Level 4 or better and at SCQF level 5 or better. At SCQF level 6 or better pupils living in Accessible Rural and Large Urban areas have the highest levels of attainment. Pupils living in Remote Small Towns are the least likely to achieve at SCQF levels 4 to 6 or better.

A full time series for school leaver attainment in National Qualifications, by pupil characteristic from 2009-10 to 2023-24 can be found in Supplementary Table 6.

Table 3: The attainment gap between leavers with different pupil characteristics widens as the SCQF Level increases

Percentage of school leavers by attainment at SCQF Level 4 to 6 or better under the National Qualifications measure, by pupil characteristic, 2023-24

Section 4.4 School leaver destinations and attainment in National Qualifications   

In 2023-24, the majority of school leavers whose highest SCQF level achieved was Level 6 or Level 7 entered Higher Education (59.5 per cent and 88.4 per cent respectively). For all other attainment levels, the most common destination was Further Education. For example, 50.6 per cent of leavers whose highest National Qualification was at SCQF Level 5 entered Further Education. This compares to 44.0 per cent of those whose highest qualification was at SCQF Level 4 and 36.5 per cent of those whose highest qualification was at SCQF Level 3. Amongst those with no passes at SCQF Level 3, 25.8 per cent entered Further Education. 

Leavers with no passes at SCQF Level 3 or better were the most likely to be in Other Destinations (27.4 per cent), and leavers whose highest qualification was at SCQF Level 7 were the least likely to be in Other Destinations (0.6 per cent).

A full time series showing school leaver initial destinations by highest SCQF Level achieved under the National Qualifications measure since 2009-10 can be found in Supplementary Table 7.

Table 4: School leavers whose highest qualification was at SCQF Level 6 or 7 were most likely to enter Higher Education and for all other attainment levels Further Education was the most common destination

Percentage of school leavers by highest SCQF Level achieved under the National Qualifications measure and initial destinations category, 2023-24

Section 4.5 School leaver attainment in National Qualifications, by local authority     

A range of factors will affect attainment at local authority level including presentation policies and the context of each authority. Factors such as levels of poverty or deprivation, the stage at which pupils leave school and the structure of the local economy (for example, the relative levels of post school opportunities in the employment sector or the continuing education sectors) may have an impact on the levels of attainment which pupils leave school with. This should be kept in mind when making comparisons between local authorities.

In 2023-24, for one pass or more at SCQF Level 4 and above, attainment across local authorities under the National Qualifications measure ranged from 88.6 per cent to 99.0 per cent, a range of 10.4 percentage points. For one pass or more SCQF Level 5 or better, National Qualifications attainment ranged from 76.8 per cent to 95.8 per cent, a range of 19.0 percentage points. For one pass or more at SCQF Level 6 or better, National Qualifications attainment ranged from 48.4 per cent to 82.7 per cent, a range of 34.2 percentage points.

A full time series for attainment by local authority since 2009-10 under the National Qualifications measure is available in Table 8 of the supplementary tables.

Chart 10: The range in attainment across local authorities widens as the SCQF level increases

Total school leaver attainment under the National Qualifications measure, by local authority, 2023-24 (percentage of leavers)

Further data on attainment by local authority for years 2009-10 to 2023-24 are provided in Supplementary Table N2.1. Supplementary Tables N2.2a and N2.2b also include a breakdown of attainment in National Qualifications in each local authority by deprivation.