§ Mr. PearsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what the average staying-on-in-education rate was of 16-year-olds in the Metropolitan 551W Borough of Dudley between 1995 and 1998, (a) overall and (b) broken down by those who attended (i) schools and (ii) further education colleges. [128928]
§ Mr. Wicks[holding answer 4 July 2000]: Participation in education by 16-year-olds in England rose to 77.4 per cent. (provisional) at the end of 1999, from 76.2 per cent. in 1998. The Secretary of State recently launched a major £3 million advertising campaign aimed at encouraging this year's school leavers and others to stay on in some form of learning. The "Don't Quit Now" campaign is particularly aimed at those who left this year with few, if any GCSEs and are in danger of dropping out of education and training.
Figures for participation in education in Dudley LEA are given in the following table; data for 1998–99 are not yet available. Figures for GST in Dudley TEC are also shown, as there is evidence that in TEC areas high rates of training compensate to some extent for lower levels of full-time education.
Participation in education of 16-year-olds in Dudley LEA/ Dudley TEC, 1995–96 to 1997–98 Percentage 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 Dudley LEA: Full-time education 60 59 57 Of which: Schools 6 6 6 Further education 54 53 51 Part-time further education 13 17 10 Total education 73 76 66 Dudley TEC: Government supported training 14 15 14 Source:
Statistical Bulletin 14/99: Participation in education and training by young people aged 16 and 17 in each local area and region, England, 1993–94 to 1997–98. Totals may not add due to rounding.