Pupils’ progress across a range of attainment measures was highlighted in a report at the Education, Children and Young People Executive (21/3/23).

98% of school leavers achieved a level 4 award in literacy and 97%  in level 4 numeracy and places Falkirk in the top quartile of all local authorities in Scotland for this measure.

1704 young people left Falkirk Council secondary schools in 2021/22 – 170 at the end of S4, 538 in S5 and 995 in S6.

The percentage of Falkirk leavers in a positive destination at the time of the snapshot (3rd October 2022) was 94.2%. This is a 1.2% drop from the previous year’s highest ever figure of 95.4%. However, compared to the previous year, 2% more school leavers went into further education and a 2% increase in school leavers going straight into employment.

Raising attainment in literacy, numeracy and attainment is a priority and has been improving across the board since the introduction of Curriculum for Excellence in 2014. In 2021/22:

• 98% of young people left school with level 4 Literacy and equalled the year before which was the highest score so far and is well above the national average of 94%
• 97% of young people left school with level 4 Numeracy, well above the national average of 91%
• Falkirk ranks 9th in Scotland for school leavers with 3 or more Level 6 course awards and 7th in Scotland for 5 or more Level 6 course awards placing Falkirk in the top quartile nationally
• 38% of Falkirk school leavers gained at least one Level 5 vocational qualification (down from 39% last year). This was the 4th highest in Scotland when compared with other local authorities

Councillor Laura Murtagh, spokesperson for Education said: “School leaver destinations and attainment in 2021/22 show that we are continuing in the right direction and maintaining high levels of attainment across a range of measures.

“These high levels of attainment are even more encouraging as the school leavers in 2021/22 were unique by having the senior phase of their education affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We have still to see the full impact Covid has had on our learners but we are extremely pleased with the positive progress made to date and is testament to the hard work and commitment by both pupils and teaching staff.”