There are a number of surveys which have been conducted by the Department which have asked young people about their intentions after age 16:
Longitudinal Study of Young People in England
The Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE) is a longitudinal (panel) study of young people. In the first interview or ‘wave' of LSYPE (Spring 2004), sample members were asked at age 13/14 what their intentions were after Year 11. The results show that at age 13/14 78 per cent. of LSYPE respondents intended to stay on in full-time education either at the school they were currently attending or somewhere else. LSYPE did not ask about intentions to other learning routes.
Tellus2 and Tellus3
Tellus2 and Tellus3 were national online surveys of pupils in years 6, 8 and 10, carried out to gather the views of children and young people on topics relating to the five Every Child Matters outcomes. The relevant question asked: What do you hope to do when you leave school? (Years 8 and 10 only). The results are as follows:
Get a job at 16 Study and get a job at 18 Study and go to university Something else Don't know Tellus2 average nationally 16 17 50 7 10 Tellus3 average nationally 13 19 54 6 9
Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) Pilots
Various surveys of 21,500 young people who were in their final year of compulsory education in 1999 or 2000 were carried out for the evaluation of the EMA pilots. 78 per cent. wanted to stay in full-time education after age 16, 18 per cent. wanted to enter work or training and 4 per cent. were undecided or wanted something else.
The official measure of post-16 participation cannot be disaggregated by the type of secondary school previously attended. However, using matched administrative data, we can estimate post-16 participation rates by characteristics of the school attended at age 15, including whether or not that school had a sixth form. These estimates, shown in the following table, exclude post-16 participation in independent schools.
Percentage No sixth form Sixth form All mainstream maintained schools1 Full-time education 73 79 77 Part-time education 4 3 3 Work-based learning (WBL) 8 6 7 Total education and WBL 85 88 87 1 Excludes special schools, pupil referral units and independent schools. Source: Matched Administrative Data, 19 in 2009 cohort.