Published 22 June 2023
More pupils in West Dunbartonshire are moving on to positive destinations after finishing at school, new figures have shown.
A total of 95.11% of young people left school to go to further or higher education, training, volunteer work, personal skills development activity or employment in 2021/22
It marks a 4.12% increase on the previous year’s figures and a report to the Council’s Educational Services committee this week credited an action plan implemented along with partners last year to improve outcomes.
The largest proportion of school leavers in West Dunbartonshire (36.19%) move on to higher education, closely following by 27.93% of pupils going into further education.
A further 25% move into employment, and 5% go for additional training.
Councillor Clare Steel, Convener of Educational Services, said: “Our committed staff and teachers work tirelessly to ensure our young people are well equipped with the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to continue their development after leaving West Dunbartonshire schools.
“The pandemic presented a number of challenges for our pupils and school leavers, but work with local and national partners to offer them tailored support and guidance has clearly worked and helped our young people to thrive.
“The rise in pupils reaching positive destinations is fantastic news, and I know the detailed action plan will ensure we can continue to make progress in this area.”
Councillor John Millar, Vice Convener of Educational Services, added: “It is so pleasing to see that our young people are being encouraged to take what they have learned during their school education and apply it in the outside world, whether that be at university, in the workplace, or with further training.
“This demonstrates the value of working in partnership to give our young people the best start in life, and teach them that there are many different paths to success.”