School dropout rates in poor areas twice the average

School dropout rates in disadvantaged areas is almost twice that of the national average, despite significant improvements.

The latest Department of Education statistics on the retention rates of students show that 9% of the 60,300 students who started second-level in 2010 left school before reaching Leaving Certificate. This means that around 5,300 did not do the standard exam or Leaving Certificate applied in 2015 or 2016, depending on whether there was a five-year or six-year cycle in their schools.

However, the overall national averages mask continuing differences depending on the background of pupils.