FEWER young people in West Dunbartonshire are going on to positive destinations after leaving school, according to official statistics.

The School Leaver Destination Report for 2019/2020 recorded 89.66 per cent positive destinations in West Dunbartonshire – 3.7 per cent below the national figure, and a drop of 3.96 per cent from last years figure of 93.62 per cent.

In Dumbarton, of the 2019/20 leavers from Dumbarton Academy, almost 38 per cent progressed to higher education, while 26 per cent were in employment.

A further 21 per cent were recorded as being in further education and 7 per cent were recorded in the “unemployed, seeking work” category.

Almost 4 per cent fell under “unemployed, not seeking” and in training.

At Our Lady and St Patrick’s High School, 42 per cent of leavers went into higher education, 22 per cent into further education, and 17 per cent into employment.

Almost 7 per cent were listed as “unemployed, not seeking work” and 3 per cent were “unemployed, seeking work”.

At Vale of Leven Academy, 35 per cent of leavers in 2019/20 progressed to higher education, 33 per cent to further education, 16 per cent to employment and 11 per cent were classified as “unemployed, seeking work”.

Just 0.63 per cent were “unemployed, not seeking work”.

The report found that pupils who leave in the winter or drop out of school midway through the year, are more likely to end up in a negative destination, and approximately 25 per cent of negative destinations left school before summer 2020.

The findings also concluded that pupils who live in Renton and Castlehill are more likely to end up in negative destinations than those in other areas.

A council spokesperson said: “Our committed staff and teachers work tirelessly to ensure our young people are well equipped with the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to continue their development after leaving West Dunbartonshire schools.

“The past year has presented a number of challenges for our pupils and school leavers, but we continue to work with local and national partners to offer them tailored support and guidance to allow them to thrive.

“We remain focused on helping all our pupils reach positive destinations following their school education and our detailed action plan will ensure we can continue the wider progress made in this area over the past five years.”