More and more young people feel good about Falkirk as a place to live, go to school and grow up in… and they believe it is getting better.
A recent survey of primary and secondary pupils carried out through the economic development initiative My Future's in Falkirk showed 83% of young people agreed that the Falkirk area was "a great place to grow up". This was a big improvement on the result in a similar survey in 2005 when only 60% of young people rated the area as a good place to live and grow up in.
The trend was up across a range of issues:
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82% agreed the area was a great place to go to school (66% in 2005)
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75% agreed the area was changing and getting better (64% in 2005)
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78% agreed that the area offered great facilities for young people at school and college (51% in 2005)
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80% agreed the area offered a wide range of leisure, cultural and sporting events for young people (54% in 2005) and a lively music and arts scene (60% compared with 32% in 2005)
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73% said they felt safe where they lived( 57% in 2005) and 65% felt safe visiting other parts of the area (46% in 2005)
On work and training after school:
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63% agreed there were lots of training and job opportunities in the Falkirk area (52% in 2005)
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66% believed local business were supportive of young people and looked to offer opportunities (36% in 2005)
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45% agreed they would like to work in the Falkirk area when they left school ( 38% in 2005)
Councillor Craig Martin, Economic Development Convener, said: "It is very encouraging to see such positive attitudes among our young people about our area and their part in its future. A good deal of work has been done to engage our young people in the economic future of the Falkirk area and, I believe, these efforts are paying off given the positive results in this year's survey."