Why early leavers in Scotland's schools is a serious cause for concern

It may not have hit the headlines in the same fashion as school violence or falling academic performance, but a recent trend in education circles should rightly cause alarm.

There is rising concern about the proportion of pupils leaving in S4 – so much so that minutes released from a key meeting involving Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth has shown the role of school careers advisers in the trend being questioned.

Figures show a total of 14.4 per cent of school leavers left in S4 for the past two years.

It is the highest level since 2010/11 and compares to a rate of 11.4 per cent before the pandemic in 2019/20.

Pupils reading in a school library. Picture: Getty Images

Likewise, the proportion leaving in S5 has also generally been rising. The rate hit 28.4 per cent last year – the second highest level on record since 2009/10.

The Skills Development Scotland agency has been asked to carry out “additional analysis” focused on S4 leavers.

Some may argue there is an inherent value in allowing pupils to leave school early so they can be ‘fast-tracked’ to an apprenticeship or college place.

Scottish Tories leader Russell Findlay argued this very point as recently as last month when his party proposed cutting the minimum school leaving age to 14 or 15, suggesting the move could both boost the economy and transform the opportunities available for young people being left behind.

However, these figures could separately be read as yet another sign of growing disengagement with an ailing education system in the wake of the pandemic.

Since the Covid lockdowns, we have also seen attendance rates plummet and the frequency of violent incidents in schools spike.

Combined, they are worrying trends. In an economically turbulent era where Scotland is grappling with new US tariffs and cost-of-living pressures, the need for a skilled, mobilised workforce to drive the economy, particularly in the face of migration challenges, is paramount.

SNP ministers need to do far more than simply engage in finger pointing at the likes of school career advisers. The need to fast-track a wider strategy to help re-engage pupils across the country is more urgent than ever.