Key Stage 4 destinations

Latest data

• The latest headline Key Stage 4 (KS4) destinations statistics were for pupils who completed KS4 in the 2020/21 academic year. They reported on whether these pupils were in sustained education, apprenticeship or work in 2021/22. A sustained destination means at least six months recorded activity.
• In the North East in 2021/22:
  • The vast majority (almost 93%) of pupils were in a sustained destination
  • however, this was a slightly lower percentage than England
  • about 82% of pupils were in sustained education, a lower proportion than nationally
  • just over 5% were in sustained apprenticeships, with a similar percentage in sustained work and both percentages higher than England's
  • in terms of sustained education locations, North East pupils were more likely to be in further education than nationally, slightly more likely to be in a school sixth form and much less likely to be in a sixth form college
  • just under half of the North East sustained spprenticeships were at advanced level or higher.
• Within the North East:
  • Pupils from North Tyneside educational establishments were most likely to be in a sustained destination
  • in particular, they were the most likely to be in sustained education
  • pupils from Sunderland were most likely to be in sustained apprenticeships and were also most likely to be insustained work
  • the location of sustained education varied between North East local authority areas, with pupils from South Tyneside most likely to be in a further education establishment but least likely to be in a school sixth form
  • in contrast, pupils from Newcastle establishments were most likely to be in a school sixth form but least likely to be in further education.

Recent trends

• The latest release provides local authority level information for seven academic years. During that period, in the North East:
  • The percentage of North East KS4 pupils moving into a sustained destination varied little, being close to or slightly above 93% in each year
  • it was slightly below the England percentage in each year
  • the percentage of pupils in sustained education destinations was lower in the latest year than a year earlier
  • in contrast, the latest percentages in sustained apprenticeships and work were both higher than in the previous year
  • these patterns of one year change matched those for England as a whole and were the same for all seven North East local authority areas
  • the latest North East percentage of pupils in sustained work was higher than five years earlier
  • in contrast, the percentages in sustained education and apprentices were lower
  • the increased percentage in sustained work and decreased percentage in sustained apprenticeships in the latest five years were both repeated across the North East
  • in some North East local authority areas, however, the five year trend in sustained education percentages was positive, with a particularly large increase in North Tyneside.

Learner characteristics

• Information about sustained destinations is available for female and male pupils and there are breakdowns of the data that include pupils defined as disadvantaged and those with identifiable special educational needs (SEN)
• disadvantaged pupils include pupils who are or have recently been eligible for free school meals (FSM), pupils who are looked after children for at least one day and pupils who are adopted from care
• in the North East in 2021/22:
  • Almost 15% of disadvantaged KS4 pupils were not in a sustained destination, compared to fewer than 5% of other pupils
  • this difference was driven by a much lower percentage in sustained education. The percentage of disadvantaged pupils in sustained work was actually higher
  • a slightly higher percentage of female pupils were in a sustained destination than male pupils
  • this was a result of North East females being more likely to be in sustained education than their male counterparts
  • the percentages in sustained apprenticeship and sustained work were both higher for males
  • just under 13% of pupils with SEN were not in a sustained destination, compared to fewer than 7% of other pupils
  • as with disadvantaged pupils, this gap was mainly due to a lower percentage in sustained education, with the percentage in sustained work being higher
  • the patterns of differences between pupils with these characteristics was similar in the North East and across England
  • these characteristics made little difference to patterns of change over the latest five years
  • in each case, the percentage in sustained work had increased and the percentage in sustained apprenticeships had decreased
  • in all but one case, the percentage in sustained education had decreased. The exception was pupils with SEN who were slightly more likely to be in sustained education than five years earlier.

Five years after key stage 4

• A separate DfE dataset provides longer term destination information. The latest release of this provides information about pupils who completed KS4 in 2015/16 and reports on their destinations in 2016/17, 2018/19 and 2020/21. 
• In the North East in 2020/21:
  • Just over 76% of pupils completing KS4 five years earlier were in a sustained destination
  • this was a lower percentage than the England equivalent (almost 80%)
  • about 36% of the North East pupils were in higher education, with just over 2% in further and other education, 7% in apprenticeships and 31% in sustained work
  • the first of these percentages was lower than nationally, the second and third were both higher and the fourth was almost identical
  • within the North East, the percentage in a sustained destination was highest among pupils who completed KS4 in North Tyneside
  • the percentages in sustained education, apprenticeships and work were, respectively, highest among Newcastle pupils, Gateshead pupils and County Durham pupils
  • the North East five year sustained destination rate was 4 percentage points (pp) below the three year rate and 17 pp below the one year rate
  • North East pupils were more likely to leave sustained destinations than in England as a whole, where the differences were 3 pp and 15 pp
  • pupils from the North East classified as disadvantaged or as having SEN were much less likely to be in a sustained destination five years after completing KS4 than other pupils
  • the differences were driven by low levels of participation in higher education, with these pupils being less than half as likely to be at this level of sustained education than other pupils
  • comparing the one and five year destination percentages shows that North East KS4 pupils who were disadvantaged or had SEN were much more likely to leave sustained destinations in the four years up to 2020/21 than other pupils.

About the data

• The Department for Education produces two regular datasets of Key stage 4 (KS4) destination measures:
  • one of these gives the most up to date information about the immediate progress of pupils after year 11
  • it includes the numbers and percentage of students staying in education, apprenticeships or employment for at least two terms in the year after completing their KS4 study
  • a further dataset gives a longer term indicator of progression
  • it provides information about how many students have sustained at least six months of education, apprenticeship or employment activity in their first, third and fifth year after finishing KS4
• both datasets provide statistics at national and local authority area level
• however, neither includes information for LEP or combined authority areas. Therefore, the North East estimates in these charts are based on summed local authority area data
• students are assigned to the geographic area of the school or college where they completed their KS4 study, rather than the area of their residence
• our analysis focuses on pupils from state-funded mainstream schools, but the full dataset includes information about students from other provider types.