04 February, 2015 - Minister O’Sullivan publishes School Retention Report

Numbers completing Leaving Certificate continue to rise

Marked improvement in retention rates in DEIS schools over last seven years

The Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan, TD, today welcomed the latest statistics that demonstrate that more students are completing the Leaving Certificate in Ireland.

The report, compiled by the Statistics Section of the Department of Education and Skills, is based on an analysis of those students who entered secondary school in 2008, the majority of whom completed their Leaving Certificate in 2013 or 2014. The analysis examined the progress of 56,075 students through second-level.

The main findings of the report are:

  • The number of students completing the Leaving Certificate continued to increase with 90.6% of the 2008 entry completing the Leaving Certificate
  • The rate of completion for the previous year’s cohort was 90.1%.
  • The rate of completion a decade ago (1998 cohort) was 83.6%
  • The retention rate for males continues to improve and the gender gap for those students entering secondary school was 2.67%. This compares to a difference of 3.59% for the previous year’s students. For the 2008 cohort 91.93% of females completed the Leaving Certificate while 89.26% of males completed the Leaving Certificate.
  • The average retention rate for DEIS schools continues to increase with 82.1% of those entering secondary school in 2008 completing the Leaving Certificate. By comparison the completion rate in 2001 was 68.2%

Welcoming the figures Minister O’Sullivan said:

“These are positive figures that show a modest and continued increase in the number of students completing the Leaving Certificate. Ten years ago 83.6% of students completed the Leaving Certificate- that now stands at 90.6%. 

“I would like to acknowledge the role that school leaders, teachers and parents have played in encouraging students to continue in secondary education. Across Europe the average number of adults aged 20-24 who have completed secondary education is 81%. We are significantly ahead of that figure and have the 8th highest secondary school completion rate across the 28 member states.

“However, despite the positives in this report it is still a concern that approximately one in ten students are not completing secondary school. Many of these students are choosing other educational and training pathways such as apprenticeships and Youthreach courses, but there are a proportion of students who are leaving school without any plan. This is a serious problem and those students who drop out of formal education as teenagers limit their life chances. Continuing to improve retention rates, and to ensure that those who chose to leave school pursue an alternative career or training path is important work that will continue.”

The report can be accessed at Retention Rates of Pupils in Second Level Schools 2008 Cohort.pdf

ENDS.