The minimum age for leaving school in Scotland should be lower than 16, the Scottish Conservatives have said.
Party leader Russell Findlay is set to propose the policy - which would result in youngsters being allowed to leave as young as 14, but required to go on to either an apprenticeship or college - in a speech to mark tomorrow.
The minimum school leaving age in Scotland has been 16 for decades, but Mr Findlay is expected say that too many young people become “trapped in a system that isn’t working for them” and to argue that the change could “transform opportunities for those young people who are being left behind”.
Lowering the school leaving age
Mr Findlay will say: “This is not about writing off these young people. It is the very opposite of that.
“It is about guiding each individual on to the path best suited to their aspirations. It is about giving young people an opportunity to continue in a form of hybrid education that is better suited to their talents.”
Mr Findlay will add: “Upon leaving school at 15, maybe even 14, they would still be required to stay in education - but it would be a form of education that works for them, a fast track to opportunity, whether college or an apprenticeship.
“By developing our proposal hand in hand with businesses, we could make Scotland’s economy fit for the future.”
But the idea was criticised as “Dickensian” by education secretary Jenny Gilruth.
“These reckless plans were proposed by the Scottish Tories in 2011 - and were soundly rejected by the Scottish people,” she said.
“The Tories should say what they mean - they want to see working-class children leave school at 14 and leave academic pursuits to the middle and upper class.”
‘Dickensian policy’
Ms Gilruth added: “We will continue to take action to ensure every child in Scotland, no matter their background, has the opportunity to succeed in whatever path they choose. That’s why we’re already seeing record numbers of vocational qualifications earned by pupils in our schools - and .
“The last time the school leaving age was changed to 14 was over a century ago. Tory values may be rooted in the Victorian era, but we will not allow them to drag our education system into a bygone age with this Dickensian policy.”
Figures on the 2023-24 cohort of school leavers, published last week, show that more than 8,000 were in S4 - equating to 14.4 per cent of all leavers. That was the same proportion that left at that age and stage the previous year (2022-23) but the total number grew slightly, going from 7,890 in 2022-23 to 8,084 in 2023-24.
Graham Hutton, general secretary of School Leaders Scotland, described the Conservative proposals as “an interesting contribution to the debate on pupil pathways”.
He said: “We would need more details on their proposals to comment further but we do not agree with lowering the school leaving age and indeed, we would definitely encourage young people to stay on in education beyond 16.
“It is important that all young people are helped and supported on their own individual learning pathway.”
Mr Hutton added: “This requires flexibility and resources which may be in school, college or in a supported location, but which will lead to a positive outcome and destination. All our young people should be valued and leave full-time education with suitable qualifications of which they can be proud.”
Rising numbers of S4 leavers
That means last year Scotland had its largest cohort of S4 leavers since 2009-10.
In 2009-10, 8,862 students left school in S4 ,which equated to 16.7 per cent of the leavers that year.
It has become the norm in recent decades to encourage students to stay in schools for longer. However, secondary school leaders have in the past told Tes Scotland that more students leaving school earlier is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as they have something positive to go on to.
Official figures show that around half of S4 leavers in 2023-24 went on to further education (52.2 per cent); over a quarter (26.6 per cent) went into employment; and 12.6 per cent went into other positive destinations.
However, 8.1 per cent were unemployed or where they ended up after school was unknown.
Following his speech, Mr Findlay will be joined by the party’s education spokesman, Miles Briggs, on a visit to an apprenticeship programme in East Lothian.
For the latest in Scottish education delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for Tes’ The Week in Scotland newsletter
