Destinations of school pupils after key stage 4 (usually aged 16 years)
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Last updated 14 May 2019 - see all updates
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1. Main facts and figures
- overall, 94% of pupils went into education, apprenticeships or employment for at least 2 terms after finishing key stage 4 in July 2016
- 5% of pupils had no sustained education, apprenticeship or employment, and the destination was unknown for a further 1%
- over 90% of pupils from nearly every ethnic group went into education, apprenticeships or employment – the exceptions were Gypsy/Roma and Traveller of Irish heritage pupils, where the figures were 66% and 73% respectively
- overall, the percentage of pupils going into education, apprenticeships or employment went up by 5 percentage points compared with 2010/11 (from 89% to 94%); a higher percentage of pupils did so from every ethnic group except Gypsy/Roma
- pupils from the Chinese and Indian ethnic groups were consistently the most likely out of all ethnic groups to go into education, apprenticeships or employment every year during the period studied
- Mixed White and Black Caribbean pupils were less likely to stay in education in 2016/17, compared with the national average
- in 2016/17, Gypsy/Roma and Traveller of Irish heritage pupils were the least likely to stay in education (at 56% and 55% respectively), but the most likely to go into employment (at 7% and 11% 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, 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 2016, based on what they did in the first 2 terms of the following academic year (October 2016 to March 2017).
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 7 school years from 2010/11 to 2016/17.
There are 4 main categories that show whether pupils:
- stayed in education
- went into an apprenticeship
- 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 an apprenticeship, pupils must have started an apprenticeship at any point in the year and continued it for at least 6 months.
To be counted as having been in employment, pupils must have had sustained employment recorded in 5 out of 6 months from October to March. Additionally, they must 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. By ethnicity
| Ethnicity | Education, apprenticeships or employment | Education | Apprenticeships | Employment | No sustained education/employment | Unknown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| All | 94 | 86 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| Asian | 95 | 93 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Bangladeshi | 95 | 93 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Indian | 97 | 96 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Pakistani | 94 | 92 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Asian other | 95 | 93 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Black | 94 | 92 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Black African | 95 | 93 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Black Caribbean | 93 | 89 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| Black other | 94 | 90 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| Chinese | 98 | 97 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Mixed | 92 | 87 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| Mixed White/Asian | 94 | 89 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| Mixed White/Black African | 93 | 89 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| Mixed White/Black Caribbean | 91 | 83 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 1 |
| Mixed other | 93 | 89 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| White | 94 | 85 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| White British | 94 | 85 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| White Irish | 94 | 88 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| Gypsy/Roma | 66 | 56 | 3 | 7 | 25 | 9 |
| Irish Traveller | 73 | 55 | 8 | 11 | 20 | 6 |
| White other | 93 | 89 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| Other | 93 | 91 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| Unknown | 90 | 83 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV)
Summary of Destinations of school pupils after key stage 4 (usually aged 16 years) By ethnicity Summary
This data shows that:
- overall, in 2016/17, 86% of pupils went into education after completing key stage 4 (making this the national average); 5% went into apprenticeships; 3% went into employment and 5% had no sustained education or employment
- pupils from the Chinese and Indian ethnic groups were the most likely out of all ethnic groups to stay in education, at 97% and 96% respectively
- 6% of White British pupils went into apprenticeships after key stage 4 in 2016/17 - the only ethnic group where the percentage was higher was Traveller of Irish Heritage (at 8%), but it is not possible to draw firm conclusions about this group due to the small number of pupils in key stage 4
- pupils from the Chinese ethnic group were the least likely to go into employment out of all ethnic groups, at less than half a percent (this shows as 0% in the table due to rounding)
- White British, and Mixed White and Black Caribbean pupils were less likely to stay in education (85% and 83% respectively) in 2016/17, than the national average for all pupils
- Gypsy/Roma and Traveller of Irish Heritage pupils were the least likely to stay in education (at 56% and 55% respectively), but the most likely to go into employment (7% and 11% respectively) – however, 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 25% and 20% respectively) were much more likely to have no sustained education or employment compared with the national average (5%)
3. By ethnicity over time
| Ethnicity | 2010/11 | 2011/12 | 2012/13 | 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| All | 89 | 89 | 91 | 92 | 94 | 94 | 94 |
| Asian | 93 | 92 | 94 | 95 | 95 | 96 | 95 |
| Bangladeshi | 92 | 91 | 93 | 95 | 94 | 96 | 95 |
| Indian | 95 | 96 | 96 | 97 | 97 | 98 | 97 |
| Pakistani | 90 | 90 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 94 | 94 |
| Asian other | 94 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 96 | 95 |
| Black | 91 | 91 | 94 | 94 | 94 | 94 | 94 |
| Black African | 93 | 92 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 95 |
| Black Caribbean | 89 | 89 | 92 | 93 | 93 | 93 | 93 |
| Black other | 89 | 91 | 93 | 93 | 94 | 94 | 94 |
| Chinese | 97 | 97 | 97 | 98 | 97 | 98 | 98 |
| Mixed | 88 | 89 | 90 | 92 | 93 | 93 | 92 |
| Mixed White/Asian | 91 | 91 | 93 | 93 | 94 | 94 | 94 |
| Mixed White/Black African | 87 | 89 | 91 | 93 | 94 | 94 | 93 |
| Mixed White/Black Caribbean | 86 | 86 | 87 | 89 | 91 | 91 | 91 |
| Mixed other | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 94 | 93 | 93 |
| White | 89 | 89 | 90 | 92 | 94 | 94 | 94 |
| White British | 89 | 89 | 90 | 92 | 94 | 94 | 94 |
| White Irish | 89 | 89 | 92 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 94 |
| Gypsy/Roma | 67 | 61 | 62 | 68 | 68 | 65 | 66 |
| Irish traveller | 60 | 50 | 62 | 55 | 67 | 69 | 73 |
| White other | 90 | 89 | 91 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 93 |
| Other | 91 | 90 | 92 | 93 | 93 | 93 | 93 |
| Unknown | 86 | 88 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 90 | 90 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity over time’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity over time’ (CSV)
Summary of Destinations of school pupils after key stage 4 (usually aged 16 years) By ethnicity over time Summary
This data shows that:
- overall, between 2010/11 and 2016/17, the percentage of pupils going into education, apprenticeships or employment went up from 89% to 94% – this was mostly due to an increase in those staying in education (from 82% to 86%)
- a higher percentage of pupils from every ethnic group went into education, apprenticeships or employment in 2016/17 compared with 2010/11, with the exception of pupils from the Gypsy/Roma group
- between 2010/11 and 2016/17, there was a 6 percentage point increase in pupils from the Mixed White and Black African ethnic group going into education, apprenticeships or employment – this was the largest increase out of all ethnic groups except for the Traveller of Irish Heritage group (which has a small number of pupils in key stage 4)
- out of all ethnic groups, pupils from the Chinese and Indian groups were most likely to stay in education in 2016/17 (at 97% and 96% respectively) – these groups had the highest percentage of pupils staying in education, apprenticeships or employment every year since 2010/11
- the percentages of Gypsy/Roma and Traveller of Irish heritage pupils going into education, apprenticeships or employment varied substantially over the years between 2010/11 and 2016/17 (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.
These statistics cover pupils who went to state funded mainstream schools.
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: 2017
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