CROSS-PARTY support has been given among councillors for the number of young people reaching positive destinations in Argyll and Bute.
A report revealed that 94.6 per cent of school leavers went into further education or employment after the end of the 2024/25 school year, beating the Scotland-wide figure of 93.3 per cent.
The number for Argyll and Bute has consistently hovered at between 93 and 95 per cent every academic year since at least 2018/19.
Councillors voiced their congratulations at a meeting of the council’s community services committee on Thursday, December 11, after a presentation by staff.
Councillor Dougie McFadzean (SNP, Kintyre and the Islands) said: “Thank you for all the work you are doing, and congratulations on your performance in this area.
“I know from having spoken to pupils in Tarbert and Islay how caring your staff are, and the pupils are not cast off when they leave school.
“That is very important, because there is nothing worse than going into the final day of the year thinking where you go from there. That is not the ethos in Argyll and Bute.”
Councillor Maurice Corry (Conservative, Lomond North) added: “I would endorse what Councillor McFadzean said. The council is good at monitoring where the pupils go when they leave and positive destinations are so important.
“It is not easy for everybody to find the right niche. In relation to the guidance teachers, who I believe are involved, what training is given to them with the positive destination situation?”
Education manager Simon Easton responded: “Each school has a developing young workforce leader, who is usually the head of guidance. They meet three times a year across the authority.
“Training is a key part of that, and data supplied by Skills Development Scotland allows teachers in schools to identify pupils who are probably at risk of a negative destination.”
