Destinations of school pupils after key stage 4 (usually aged 16 years)
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- 1. Navigate to Main facts and figures section
- 2. Navigate toPupils going into sustained education, employment or training by ethnicity section
- 3. Navigate toPupils going into sustained education, employment or training by ethnicity over time section
- 4. Navigate to Methodology section
- 5. Navigate to Data sources section
- 6. Navigate to Download the data section
1. Main facts and figures
- overall, 94% of pupils went into education, employment or training for at least 2 terms after finishing key stage 4 in 2015; 5% of pupils had no sustained education, employment or training, and the destination was unknown for a further 1%
- over 90% of pupils from nearly every ethnic group went into education, employment or training – the exceptions were Gypsy/Roma and Traveller of Irish heritage pupils, where the figures were 65% and 68% respectively
- a higher percentage of pupils from nearly every ethnic group went into education, employment or training compared with 2010/11 (the exception was the Gypsy/Roma ethnic group); overall, the percentage of pupils doing this went up by 5 percentage points over this period, from 89% to 94%
- pupils from the Chinese and Indian ethnic groups were consistently the most likely out of all ethnic groups to stay in education, employment or training every year between 2010/11 and 2015/16
- Mixed White and Black Caribbean pupils were less likely to stay in education in 2015/16, compared to the national average for all pupils
- in 2015/16, Gypsy/Roma and Traveller of Irish heritage pupils were the least likely to stay in education (both at 57%), but the most likely to go into employment or training (at 8% and 12% respectively); however, it is not possible to draw firm conclusions about these groups due to the small number of pupils in key stage 4
Things you need to know
This data only includes the immediate destinations of pupils in the year after finishing key stage 4 study, not longer term outcomes. It doesn’t measure the quality of the education or employment engaged in, for example, whether work or study is full or part time, the level of pay, or the level of study.
The data comes from administrative sources recording enrolment in schools and colleges in England and universities in the UK, matched tax and benefit data and some local authority records of young people's activity.
Not all destinations could be captured - for example, if people went into work or study overseas or attended a school or college in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, their destination would be unknown. Destinations were captured for 97% to 99% of all ethnic groups except Gypsy/Roma and Traveller of Irish Heritage pupils, where the figures were 91% and 93% respectively.
In 2014/15 an additional data source was introduced which increased employment outcomes by around one percentage point.
The Code of Practice for Official Statistics requires Department for Education (DfE) to take reasonable steps to ensure that their published or disseminated statistics protect confidentiality.
For more information about DfE’s disclosure control procedures for its statistical releases please see DfE’s statistical policy statement on confidentiality.
To help preserve anonymity, pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest 5.
What the data measures
This data shows the destinations of pupils who completed key stage 4 in state-funded mainstream schools in England in 2015, based on what they did in the first 2 terms of the following academic year (October 2015 to March 2016).
The total of all pupils who completed key stage 4 was used to calculate percentages of outcomes for each category.
Key stage 4 covers school years 10 and 11, when children are aged 14 to 16 years. Most pupils work towards national qualifications – usually GCSEs.
The data shows destinations by ethnic group for 6 school years from 2010/11 to 2015/16.
There are 3 main categories that show whether pupils:
- stayed in education
- went into employment or training
- didn’t stay in education or go into employment for at least 2 terms
There’s an extra category (‘unknown’) to show where this information wasn’t captured.
To be counted as having been in education, pupils must have had sustained education participation recorded for 6 months from October to March immediately after key stage 4. Students who combined education and employment are counted as being in education.
To be counted as having been in employment or training, pupils must have had sustained employment or training participation recorded in 5 out of 6 months from October to March, and also to have been in employment or training in April, if not in March.
Pupils who completed some education or employment from October to March immediately after key stage 4, but for less than the required time, are counted as having no sustained education or employment.
The ethnic categories used in this data
This data uses categories from the Department for Education’s school census, which is broadly based on the 2001 national Census, with 3 exceptions:
- Traveller of Irish Heritage and Gypsy/Roma pupils have been separated into 2 categories
- Sri Lankan has been added to the Asian/Asian British group but is not reported separately
- Chinese pupils have been assigned a separate category
These changes were made after consultations with local authorities and lobby groups.
The categories in the school census are as follows:
White:
- British
- Irish
- Gypsy/Roma
- Traveller of Irish heritage
- Any Other White background
Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups:
- White and Black Caribbean
- White and Black African
- White and Asian
- Any Other Mixed/Multiple ethnic background
Asian/Asian British:
- Indian
- Pakistani
- Bangladeshi
- Sri Lankan
- Any Other Asian background
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British:
- African
- Caribbean
- Any Other Black/African/Caribbean background
Chinese
Other ethnic group
Unknown (where no ethnicity is recorded)
Information about destinations is provided for both detailed and broad ethnic groups where possible and when the data is available.
The 6 broad categories used are as follows:
- Asian/Asian British
- Black/African/Caribbean/Black British
- Chinese
- Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups
- White
- Other ethnic group
2. Pupils going into sustained education, employment or training by ethnicity
| Ethnicity | Education, employment or training | Education | Employment | No sustained education/employment | Unknown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | |
| All | 94 | 90 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| Asian | 96 | 94 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Bangladeshi | 96 | 95 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Indian | 97 | 96 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Pakistani | 94 | 93 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Asian other | 96 | 95 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Black | 94 | 93 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Black African | 95 | 94 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Black Caribbean | 93 | 91 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| Black other | 94 | 92 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| Chinese | 97 | 97 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Mixed | 93 | 90 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| Mixed White/Asian | 94 | 92 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| Mixed White/Black African | 94 | 92 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| Mixed White/Black Caribbean | 91 | 87 | 4 | 8 | 1 |
| Mixed other | 93 | 91 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| White | 94 | 90 | 4 | 6 | 1 |
| White British | 94 | 90 | 4 | 6 | 1 |
| White Irish | 94 | 92 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| White Irish Traveller | 68 | 57 | 12 | 25 | 7 |
| White Gypsy/Roma | 65 | 57 | 8 | 27 | 9 |
| White other | 92 | 90 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| Other | 93 | 92 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| Unknown | 90 | 86 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
Download table data for ‘Pupils going into sustained education, employment or training by ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Pupils going into sustained education, employment or training by ethnicity’ (CSV)
Summary of Destinations of school pupils after key stage 4 (usually aged 16 years) Pupils going into sustained education, employment or training by ethnicity Summary
This data shows that:
- overall, in 2015/16, 90% of pupils went into education after completing key stage 4; 3% went into employment or training and 5% had no sustained education or employment
- pupils from the Chinese and Indian ethnic groups were most likely to stay in education out of all ethnic groups, at 97% and 96% respectively
- pupils from the Chinese ethnic group were the least likely to go into employment or training out of all ethnic groups, at less than half a percent – due to rounding, this shows as 0% in the table and chart
- Mixed White and Black Caribbean pupils were less likely to stay in education (87%) in 2015/16, compared with the national average for all pupils
- Gypsy/Roma and Traveller of Irish Heritage pupils were the least likely to stay in education (both at 57%), but the most likely to go into employment or training (8% and 12% respectively); it is not possible to draw firm conclusions about these groups due to the small number of pupils in key stage 4
- Gypsy/Roma and Traveller of Irish heritage pupils (at 27% and 25% respectively) were much more likely to have no sustained education or employment compared with the national average (5%)
3. Pupils going into sustained education, employment or training by ethnicity over time
| Ethnicity | 2010/11 | 2011/12 | 2012/13 | 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| All | 89 | 89 | 91 | 92 | 94 | 94 |
| Asian | 92 | 92 | 94 | 94 | 95 | 96 |
| Bangladeshi | 92 | 91 | 93 | 94 | 94 | 96 |
| Indian | 95 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 97 | 97 |
| Pakistani | 90 | 90 | 91 | 93 | 94 | 94 |
| Asian other | 94 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 95 | 96 |
| Black | 91 | 91 | 93 | 94 | 94 | 94 |
| Black African | 92 | 92 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 95 |
| Black Caribbean | 89 | 89 | 92 | 92 | 93 | 93 |
| Black other | 89 | 91 | 93 | 93 | 94 | 94 |
| Chinese | 96 | 97 | 97 | 98 | 97 | 97 |
| Mixed | 88 | 88 | 90 | 91 | 93 | 93 |
| Mixed White/Asian | 90 | 90 | 93 | 93 | 94 | 94 |
| Mixed White/Black African | 87 | 88 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 |
| Mixed White/Black Caribbean | 86 | 86 | 87 | 89 | 91 | 91 |
| Mixed other | 89 | 89 | 91 | 92 | 94 | 93 |
| White | 89 | 89 | 90 | 92 | 94 | 94 |
| White British | 89 | 89 | 90 | 92 | 94 | 94 |
| White Irish | 89 | 89 | 91 | 91 | 93 | 94 |
| White Irish Traveller | 59 | 50 | 60 | 55 | 67 | 68 |
| White Gypsy/Roma | 67 | 60 | 62 | 68 | 68 | 65 |
| White other | 90 | 89 | 91 | 91 | 92 | 92 |
| Other | 91 | 90 | 92 | 93 | 93 | 93 |
| Unknown | 86 | 87 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 90 |
Download table data for ‘Pupils going into sustained education, employment or training by ethnicity over time’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Pupils going into sustained education, employment or training by ethnicity over time’ (CSV)
Summary of Destinations of school pupils after key stage 4 (usually aged 16 years) Pupils going into sustained education, employment or training by ethnicity over time Summary
This data shows that:
- overall, between 2010/11 and 2015/16, the percentage of pupils going into education, employment or training went up from 89% to 94%
- a higher percentage of pupils from every ethnic group went into education, employment or training in 2015/16 compared with 2010/11, with the exception of pupils from the Gypsy/Roma group
- from 2010/11 to 2015/16 there was a 7 percentage point increase in Mixed White and Black African pupils going into education, employment or training; Traveller of Irish Heritage pupils showed an increase of 9 percentage points over the same period, but it’s not possible to draw firm conclusions about this group due to the small number of students
- out of all ethnic groups, pupils from the Chinese and Indian groups were most likely to stay in education in 2015/16 (both at 97%) – these groups had the highest percentage of pupils staying in education, employment or training every year since 2010/11
- the percentages of Gypsy/Roma and Traveller of Irish heritage pupils going into education, employment or training varied substantially over the years between 2010/11 and 2015/16 (due in part to the relatively small numbers of pupils), but they were consistently the lowest among all ethnic groups
4. Methodology
Data from the national pupil database (NPD) is used to calculate education destinations. The NPD links pupil and student characteristics (for example, age, gender, and ethnicity) to school and college learning aims and attainment information for children in schools in England.
Five administrative data sources are used in compiling the NPD and have been used to determine pupils’ education destinations:
- individualised learner record (ILR) covering English further education providers and specialist post-16 institutions
- school census covering English schools (including pupil referral units)
- awarding body data
- alternative provision census
- Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA) data covering UK universities
Since 2014/15, employment data and out-of-work benefit data has been linked to the national pupil database to form the longitudinal education outcomes (LEO) dataset. Along with local authority data, LEO data is used to calculate employment destinations.
Employment data came from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Out-of-work benefit data came from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
For all years, information on employment, training and NEET (not in education, employment or training) comes from local authority data from the National Client Caseload Information System (NCCIS).
The matching of these databases was undertaken at individual level using personal characteristics such as name, date of birth and postcode.
Suppression rules and disclosure control
Suppression is applied to the destination data to ensure that individual students cannot be identified, as follows:
- any total with fewer than 11 students has had all of their data suppressed
- figures referring to outcomes for 1 or 2 individuals have been suppressed – in some cases, more figures have been suppressed if publishing them would affect the suppression of those figures referring to outcomes for 1 or 2 individuals
Any data with a sum of 0 is retained unless it reveals information about employment destinations.
These rules are also applied to percentages relating to small numbers, so that numerators of less than 3 are suppressed. Percentages are calculated using unrounded data.
To help preserve confidentiality, student numbers have been rounded to the nearest 5.
The Code of Practice for Official Statistics requires the Department for Education (DfE) to take reasonable steps to ensure that their published or disseminated statistics protect confidentiality.
For more information about DfE’s disclosure control procedures for its statistical releases please see DfE’s statistical policy statement on confidentiality.
Rounding
All pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest 5 in the data download. Percentages are calculated using unrounded data.
Quality and methodology information
5. Data sources
Source
Destinations of KS4 and KS5 pupils: 2016
Type of data
Administrative data
Type of statistic
Official statistics
Publisher
Department for Education
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The data is collected to help provide clear and comparable information on the success of schools and colleges in helping their students continue in education or employment.
6. Download the data
This file contains: Measure, Ethnicity, Ethnicity type, Time, Time type, Geography, Geography type, Geography code, Gender, Gender type, Destination, Value, Value type, Denominator, Numerator