IT has proved one of the most intractable problems in education - how to transform the fortunes of the thousands of young people who leave school every year and go straight on the dole queue.

The Neets
Figures published yesterday by the Scottish Government show in 2006-07 there were 5000 school-leavers whose first move at the end of their education was to sign on for unemployment benefit.

They join a group from the age of 16 to 19 who do not go into employment, training or further education after they leave school - a group which numbers 20,000.

It is not a new phenomenon - the figures have remained static for 10 years. Tackling the issue in colleges, schools and communities is costing the taxpayer £4bn annually.

A recent study by HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) found a correlation between those likely to join the so-called "Neet" group (not in employment, education or training) and the lowest-performing 20% of pupils at secondary.

Those who fall into this category include a high proportion on free school meals - a key indicator of deprivation - as well as high numbers of children in care and those with some form of learning difficulty.

Other factors which HMIE said hindered progress include unsuitable teaching, parental health problems, drug or alcohol misuse, pupils who are young carers or those with young parents. Children from separated families and those who truant, offend or are a target for bullies are also less likely to succeed.

Yesterday's figures show the proportion of pupils leaving school with no Standard Grades in 2006-07 has remained static in the past three years, at 4%.

More than 10% of those claiming free school meals attained no awards at Standard Grade compared to 2.6% of leavers who don't get free school meals.

Similarly, 9% of school-leavers who live in the 15% most deprived areas got no Standard Grades compared to 2.5% of pupils in the other 85% of areas.

One organisation involved in piloting initiatives to reduce the Neet group believes small amounts of money can make a significant difference.

The Hunter Foundation, the charitable organisation run by businessman and philanthropist Sir Tom Hunter, is supporting initiatives at five schools in Edinburgh and East Ayrshire.

One at Cumnock Academy is already showing signs of progress after buying in additional careers advice and social work help. So far, of the 95 final-year pupils identified as potentially falling into the Neet category, only 15 have done so this year.

Ewan Hunter, chief executive of the Hunter Foundation, said: "The example of Cumnock Academy shows us that where you have dedicated careers advice it can make a big difference and we believe that should be formalised for all schools."

The Achievers
While the Neet problem remains a huge challenge, yesterday's figures highlight much that is to be admired in Scottish education.

The single largest group of school-leavers in 2006-07 were the 16,339 who left to go on to university - 32% of the total. A further 11,779 went on to college while the numbers in employment or training amounted to 16,500.

The number of pupils in Scotland of school leaving age who are achieving top exam scores has also increased. The proportion of S4 pupils gaining five or more Standard Grade or Intermediate 2 awards at a high level rose to 47% over 2006 to 2007. The figure was 34% for the previous academic year.

Girls outperformed boys at all levels despite the adoption of measures to raise standards among boys, from single-sex classes to regular testing.

Last year, 29% of boys achieved five or more Standard Grades at credit level or above compared with 37% of girls. At Higher level, girls again performed better, with 25% gaining three of more Highers in S5, compared with 18% of boys.

Pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds are some of the highest achievers with Chinese, Indian and mixed-race pupils in S4 out-performing most of their peers.

In keeping with previous results, pupils from remote rural schools got better exam results this year than their city counterparts.

The school-leaver statistics show that isolated secondaries out-perform schools in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee.

Under a system designed by the Scottish Government to provide comparisons between schools based on all exam results, remote rural schools came top with a rating of 193, compared to 165 for large urban areas.

Detailed figures show that 15% of pupils from remote rural areas achieved up to two Highers compared with 13% in large urban areas. And 8.7% of rural pupils achieved up to four Standard Grades compared to 7.7% in cities.

Headteachers and council officials from rural authorities believe the figures demonstrate that smaller schools can deliver better results.

Subjects
English and maths were still the most popular subjects with some 92% of pupils attaining a Standard Grade. French was next with 55% getting a Standard Grade followed by biology, chemistry and history. Some of the least popular subjects were hairdressing, where 54 pupils got an award and philosophy, which was studied by 73 pupils. Subjects taken by fewer than 50 pupils included geology, Russian, classical Greek and construction.

At Higher, the most popular subject was English, which was taken by one-quarter of pupils. Maths was next, taken by 18% of pupils.

Additional Support Needs
There was a slight increase in the number of qualifications gained in special schools as well as a slight increase in the proportion of passes.

Information provided for the first time shows that nearly 64% of leavers from publicly funded secondary and special schools with identified additional support needs had five or more qualifications at Standard Grade. But 14% had no qualifications at this level while just over 10% had at least one qualification.

The figures suggest that looked-after children have much lower average scores. Furthermore, looked-after children without additional support needs have a lower average tariff score than pupils who are not looked after, but do have additional support needs.