Attainment Gap Worsens Post-Pandemic
The attainment gap between Scotland's wealthiest and poorest school pupils remains wider than before the pandemic, according to recent data.
Closing this gap—the disparity in national qualification levels achieved by children from the most affluent and least affluent areas—has been a priority for the Scottish government since 2015.
Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth stated that the government has invested £1.75 billion but acknowledged that the new figures indicate further work is necessary.
The gap at National 4 level increased from 7.3% in the previous year to 8% for the 2025 cohort, compared to 6.7% before the pandemic in 2018-19. This represents the widest gap at level 4 since 2011-12.
While the gap between school leavers with one or more qualification at National 5 level slightly decreased since last year, it currently stands at 21.4%, higher than the 20.2% recorded before the pandemic.
Similarly, the difference in attainment at Higher level or equivalent between the most and least affluent pupils has reduced marginally over the year to 37.7%, but this remains above the 35.8% pre-pandemic figure.
Post-School Destinations and University Attendance
The data also provides insight into young people's activities after leaving school.
The proportion of pupils progressing to university increased from the previous year and now stands at 42.3%.
However, pupils from the most affluent backgrounds are more than twice as likely to attend university compared to those from the poorest backgrounds. The gap between these groups is at its highest since 2016, at 36%.
Overall, the percentage of school leavers entering positive destinations—including college, university, work, training, or voluntary work—has remained stable at 95.7%.
Personal Story: Jodie's Journey
Jodie, aged 16, struggled with confidence at school and frequently skipped classes. She had nearly stopped attending school altogether but, through Glasgow City Council's Enhanced Vocational Inclusion Programme (Evip), which combines practical training and one-to-one support, she is now training to become a football coach.
"I feel like going into that programme after leaving school was just such a relief," Jodie told BBC Scotland News.
"You're getting somewhere, you're not just waking up and going 'that's my life over with'.
"The college programme has helped me so much, just getting me out of my bed, making me feel so much better about things."
Evip Programme and Alternative Pathways
Nicola Mackenzie, who manages the Glasgow project, noted growing recognition that positive post-school pathways do not always follow traditional routes.
"Schools are wonderful places that are rich in learning and have fantastic role models for young people but not everyone is able to access that traditional approach or model," she said.
"We can offer young people the chance to do something a bit more practical at college but still linking back in with our colleagues at secondary."
She explained that this approach helps young people leave school with as many qualifications as possible, improving their chances of entering positive post-school pathways.
"For young people that can mean many things," Mackenzie added. "It's not always getting five Highers and moving into university.
"A positive post-school destination could be volunteering, it could be attending college to do a further education or higher education course, and for someone like Jodie, a modern apprenticeship, which is such a wonderful way for a young person to still learn but also do that with on-the-job experience."
"There are lots of young people where the school system is not working for various reasons - whether that be social reasons, challenges at home, challenges in the community, maybe missed attendance at school.
"What we offer is the opportunity to work in smaller groups with the support of 'one good adult' who's there to really support, encourage and motivate the young person to be the best that they can be."
Expert Analysis on Attainment and Inequality
Professor John McKendrick, co-director of the Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit at Glasgow Caledonian University, emphasized the importance of recognizing diverse positive outcomes after school, including constructive employment, while stressing the critical need to close the attainment gap.
"It matters because there is a clear link between attainment at school and what happens after school," he said. "There is clear evidence that if you don't obtain a high level at school you are much less likely to have a positive outcome when you leave school.
"The figures have plateaued for a few years now both in terms of positive destinations and the attainment gap.
"Fundamentally, we have an attainment gap as a result of deep-rooted inequality in society. Worsening absence rates in schools are higher for disadvantaged pupils and make it even harder to narrow the gaps."
He noted that school-level interventions are important and have made a difference locally and personally but can only achieve so much.
"If you wanted to put a spin on it you could say holding the line has been positive given all the wider headwinds and not making the gap much wider can be seen as a success, but what you absolutely can't say is that we have made significant strides in the last few years on closing the attainment gap cos that is simply not the case."
Breadth of Choice and Regional Variations
The Scottish government reported that the proportion of young people in positive destinations remains near a record high.
It also highlighted that the percentage of school leavers achieving five or more passes at National Courses and Highers, including equivalent vocational and technical qualifications, has increased over the past year.
Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said this reflects a strong recovery in education following the pandemic and underscores the importance of the breadth of choice schools provide to young people.
The data reveals that the proportion of school leavers achieving one or more passes at level 6 (Highers) or better varied significantly across councils, ranging from 47.6% in Clackmannanshire to 83.4% in East Renfrewshire, a gap of 35.8%, which is an increase from last year.
The Scottish government statistics refer to the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) levels: SCQF level 4 corresponds to National 4, level 5 to National 5, and level 6 to Higher.
The figures also show that 2.3% of pupils who left school had no passes in National Qualifications at level 3, a slight decrease from the previous year.
Overall, 2.9% of leavers left with their highest qualification being SCQF level 3.
The proportion of school leavers with National Qualifications at Higher or Advanced Higher level increased in 2025 compared with the previous year.
Specifically, 38.6% of pupils left school with Highers as their top qualification, and 19.8% left with Advanced Highers.
The percentage of school leavers unemployed three months after leaving school was 4%.
