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Publication - Statistics

Summary Statistics for Follow-up Leaver Destinations, No. 8: 2026 edition

Published
16 June 2026
Directorate
Learning Directorate
Topic
Children and families, Education, Work and skills

This statistical publication provides information on the follow-up destinations, nine months after the end of the school year, of 2024-25 school leavers from publicly funded secondary schools in Scotland.

Part of

Supporting documents

Section 2. School leaver follow-up destinations

Section 2.1 Destinations of school leavers

In 2024-25 93.5 per cent of school leavers were in a positive follow-up destination, an increase from 93.1 per cent last year. This was the joint highest figure, alongside 2021-22, on record.

This was mainly due to increases in the proportion of school leavers in Higher Education and Further Education. Compared to both last year and 2018-19, the proportion of school leavers who were Unemployed Seeking has remained the same and the proportion who were Unemployed Not Seeking has dropped slightly.

Chart 1: The proportion of school leavers in a positive follow-up destination increased compared to last year
Percentage of school leavers in a positive follow-up destination, 2009-10 to 2024-25

The overall trend is that the percentage of school leavers in a positive follow-up destination has increased from 85.9 per cent in 2009-10 to 93.5 per cent in 2024-25. This year the proportion of leavers in a positive follow-up destination is the joint highest figure on record alongside 2021-22.

The most common follow-up destination was Higher Education, accounting for 40.2 per cent of school leavers. Employment was the next most popular destination, at 26.5 per cent. The proportion of school leavers in Employment fell in 2024-25 compared to last year and has now dropped below figures seen before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Just over 20 per cent of school leavers were in Further Education. Compared to last year, the proportion in Further Education increased in 2024-25 but remains lower than the pre-pandemic level.

The proportion of school leavers who were unemployed nine months after leaving school decreased slightly in 2024-25 compared to last year and is similar to levels seen in the years just before the pandemic.

A time series from 2009-10 is available in Supplementary Tables 1a and 1b.

Chart 2: The most common follow-up destination for school leavers is Higher Education followed by Employment and Further Education
Follow-up destination of leavers, 2018-19 to 2024-25

Between 2018-19 and 2024-25 Higher Education has consistently been the most common follow-up destination. In 2024-25, 40.2 per cent of leavers were in Higher Education at follow-up which is higher than last year (38.1 per cent). Employment is the next most popular destination in 2024-245 at 26.5 per cent. This is lower than last year and has now dropped below figures seen before the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019-20, the proportion of leavers in Employment at follow-up dipped below Further Education but has otherwise consistently been the second most popular destination. Further Education was the third most popular destination in 2024-25 at 22.1 per cent. This is slightly higher than last year but remains lower than the pre-pandemic level. The proportion of school leavers who were Unemployed nine months after leaving school in 2024-25 was 5.7 per cent. This has decreased compared to last year when 6.1 per cent of leavers were unemployed at follow-up.

Section 2.2 Destinations by stage

The most common follow-up destination varied by stage.

  • Most S6 leavers were in Higher Education (62.2 per cent);
  • The most common follow-up destination for S5 leavers was Employment (37.9 per cent) followed by Further Education (32.4 per cent);
  • The most common follow-up destination for S4 leavers was Further Education (41.8 per cent) followed by Employment (31.8 per cent).

Chart 3: S6 leavers are more likely to be in Higher Education while S5 leavers are more likely to be Employed and S4 leavers are more likely to be in Further Education 9 months after leaving school
Follow-up destination of school leavers by stage of leaving, 2024-25

The most common follow-up destination for S4 leavers in 2024-25 was Further Education (41.8 per cent) followed by Employment (31.8 per cent). The most common follow-up destination for S5 leavers was Employment (37.9 per cent) followed by Further Education (32.4 per cent). The most common follow-up destination for S6 leavers was Higher Education (62.2 per cent) followed by Employment (20.0 per cent).

Pupils who leave school in S6 are the most likely to be in a positive follow-up destination. Those who leave in S4 are the least likely. In 2024-25,

  • 96.8 per cent of those who left school in S6 were in a positive follow-up destination. This is up from 96.5 per cent last year and 96.6 per cent in 2018-19.
  • Among S5 leavers, 90.0 per cent were in a positive follow-up destination. This is the same figure as last year and up from 88.6 per cent in 2018-19.
  • 86.4 per cent of S4 leavers were in a positive follow-up destination. This is up from 85.8 per cent last year and 83.5 per cent in 2018-19.

A time series from 2009-10 is available in Table L1.9 in the supplementary tables.

Section 2.3 Destinations by deprivation

When considering data by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD), it is important to note that the data show the difference between young people living in the most and least deprived areas. Not every person living in a deprived area will themselves be experiencing high levels of deprivation and not everyone experiencing deprivation will live in a deprived area.

Widening of the gap can occur for multiple reasons. An increase in the least deprived areas and/or a decrease in the most deprived areas will cause the gap to widen but it is also possible for the gap to widen when there have been increases in both areas, if the increase is greater in the least deprived areas.

In 2024-25 the gap between the most and least deprived leavers in a positive follow-up destination was 7.6 percentage points. The gap has narrowed compared to both last year (8.3 percentage points) and 2018-19 (8.4 percentage points).

Compared to last year, the proportion of 2024-25 school leavers in a positive follow-up destination increased for both the most and least deprived areas of Scotland. A larger increase was seen for leavers from the most deprived areas (up by 1.0 percentage points) compared to those from the least deprived areas (up by 0.2 percentage points). This has led to the gap between the two groups narrowing. 

For leavers from the most deprived areas, the increase compared to last year was mainly due to increases in the proportion in both Higher Education (up 1.5 percentage points) and Further Education (up 1.4 percentage points). However, compared to last year there was a decrease in the proportion of leavers from the most deprived areas in Employment (down by 2.6 percentage points).

For leavers from the least deprived areas, the increase was mainly due to an increase in the proportion in Higher Education (up by 2.2 percentage points). There was however a decrease in leavers from the least deprived areas going into Employment (down by 2.0 percentage points).

Compared to last year, a decrease in the proportion of leavers in Employment at follow-up was seen across all SIMD quintiles. There was also a decrease in the proportion of leavers who were Unemployed Not Seeking across all SIMD quintiles. 

A full time series from 2009-10 is available in Supplementary Table 2.

Chart 4. The deprivation gap for positive follow-up destinations has narrowed compared to both last year and 2018-19
Percentage of school leavers in a positive follow-up destination, by SIMD, 2018-19 to 2024-25

In 2024-25, 97.3 per cent of leavers from the least deprived areas were in a positive follow-up destination, compared with 89.7 per cent of leavers from the most deprived areas. The gap between the two groups in 2024-25 was therefore 7.6 percentage points (pp). The gap between the two groups has narrowed since last year when it was 8.3 pp. Over the longer term the gap has generally narrowed. In 2009-10 the gap between the two groups was 18.7 pp when 93.8 per cent of leavers from the least deprived areas and 75.1 per cent of leavers from the most deprived areas were in a positive destination.

In 2024-25, the most common follow-up destination for leavers from the least deprived areas of Scotland was Higher Education (61.5 per cent). This was followed by Employment (20.8 per cent). These leavers were more likely to be in Higher Education than leavers from other areas. They were less likely to be in Further Education, Training, Employment, Personal Skills Development or to be unemployed than leavers from other areas.

The most common destination for leavers from the most deprived areas of Scotland was Further Education (31.4 per cent). This was followed by Higher Education (26.1 per cent) and Employment (24.5 per cent). These leavers were more likely to be in Further Education, Training, Personal Skills Development or to be unemployed than those from other areas. They were also less likely to be in Higher Education than leavers from other areas.

More data on destinations by deprivation is available in Supplementary Table 2.

Chart 5: Leavers from the most deprived areas are most likely to be in Further Education whereas leavers from the least deprived areas are most likely to be in Higher Education 9 months after leaving school
Percentage of school leavers from the most and least deprived areas, by follow-up destination category, 2024-25

In 2024-25, 97.3 per cent of school leavers from the least deprived areas in Scotland were in a positive destination compared to 89.7 per cent of school leavers from the most deprived areas in Scotland. School leavers from the least deprived areas in Scotland, were most likely to be in Higher Education (61.5 per cent), followed by Employment (20.8 per cent) and Further Education (12.9 per cent). For school leavers from the most deprived areas in Scotland, the most common destination was Further Education (31.4 per cent), followed by Higher Education (26.1 per cent) and Employment (24.5 per cent). School leavers from the most deprived areas in Scotland were more likely to be Unemployed Seeking (5.4 per cent) or Unemployed Not Seeking (3.8 per cent) than school leavers from the least deprived areas where 1.3 per cent were Unemployed Seeking and 0.8 per cent were Unemployed Not Seeking.

Section 2.4 Destinations by other pupil characteristics

The proportion of school leavers in a positive follow-up destination varies by pupil characteristics.

In 2024-25:

  • Female school leavers were more likely to be in a positive destination than male school leavers.
  • School leavers of Asian - Indian or Asian - Chinese ethnicity were more likely to be in a positive destination than those in other ethnic groups.
  • School leavers from Accessible Rural areas, Accessible Small Towns and Remote Rural areas were more likely to be in a positive destination than those from other areas.
  • School leavers who did not have an Additional Support Need (ASN) were more likely to be in a positive destination than those who had an ASN.
  • School leavers who were not declared or assessed as disabled were more likely to be in a positive destination than those who were declared or assessed as disabled.

These patterns are similar to those for other years. More information on destinations by pupil characteristics is available in Supplementary Table 3.

Chart 6: The proportion of leavers in a positive destination differs by pupil characteristic
Proportion of school leavers in a positive follow-up destination by pupil characteristic, 2024-25

Sex: In 2024-25, Female school leavers were more likely to be in a positive destination (94.1 per cent) than Males (92.9 per cent). Ethnicity: Asian - Chinese and Asian - Indian school leavers were the most likely to be in a positive destination at follow-up (98.2 per cent and 97.7 per cent respectively). Those least likely to be in a positive follow-up destination were White -Scottish (93.2 per cent), those included in All Other Categories (93.3 per cent), and White - non-Scottish (93.5 per cent). Location: School leavers from Accessible Rural areas, Accessible Small Towns and Remote Rural areas were most likely to be in a positive follow-up destination (94.2 per cent, 94.0 per cent and 93.9 per cent respectively). Remote Small Towns had the lowest proportion of leavers in a positive follow-up destination at 90.4 per cent. Additional Support Need (ASN): Leavers without ASN were most likely to be in a positive follow-up destination (96.7 per cent) compared to those with ASN (90.1 per cent). Disability: Leavers who were Not declared or assessed disabled were most likely to be in a positive follow-up destination (93.7 per cent) compared to those who were (89.2 per cent).

Contact

school.stats@gov.scot

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