The number of young people leaving school with top exam grades is falling in Northern Ireland.
There are also signs that the trend for young people to opt for a university elsewhere – the so-called ‘brain drain’ – is starting to reverse.
Fewer school leavers also headed to university, with more going straight into the workplace.
The details emerge in a Department of Education report looking at choices made by school leavers after the 2022/23 academic year.
It shows over two-thirds (68.2%) of grammar school pupils opt for university.
Overall, 41.5% of over 23,000 school leavers went on to university, a significant drop from the 47.9% just three years ago.
Only 21.4% of non-grammar pupils followed the same path, with almost twice as many (40.4%) heading to further education colleges.
Overall, 30.3% chose the further education route — up from 27.4% the year before.
A significantly higher number of Catholic pupils (44.7%) extended their studies at university compared to 39.2% from the Protestant community.
Fewer Catholics became unemployed on leaving school — 10.9% compared to 11.6% of Protestants.
Overall, though, the trend for young people heading off to university elsewhere is changing, with more continuing their studies in Northern Ireland.
Some 77.9% of school leavers remained here to attend university in 2022/23, up from 73.1% in 2021/22, while 20.4% moved to Great Britain — down from 25.2%. Just 1.7% go elsewhere.
School leavers who identify as Catholic are much more likely to remain in Northern Ireland if they go on to attend university. Some 82.8% remain here while 15.4% choose to study at other GB universities with 1.8% heading elsewhere.
Almost a quarter of young Protestant school leavers head to institutions in Great Britain (24.1%) with 74.9% choosing to attend a university in Northern Ireland.
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The statistics also show that females are still leaving school with higher grades than their male classmates.
Some 79.4% of female school leavers achieve at least five GCSEs (including English and maths) compared to 72.9% of males achieving that standard.
Overall, the GCSE results achieved by school leavers across Northern Ireland in 2022/23 were the lowest in the past three years, with 76.1% leaving school with at least five GCSEs that include English and maths. That figure fell from 78% the year before.
At 89.8% in 2022/23, the proportion of school leavers achieving at least any five GCSEs at grades A*-C or equivalent has decreased by 2.1 percentage points from 2021/22 (91.9%).
Again, pupils attending grammar schools do significantly better, with 96.0% leaving school with at least five GCSEs overall, compared to 61.1% of non-grammar school leavers.
What area of Northern Ireland pupils live in can also have a significant impact on their results.
The Lisburn and Castlereagh council area leads the way in producing the most pupils leaving with high grades, with some 83.0% achieving five or more GCSEs (including English and maths) and 63.0% leaving with three A-levels to their name.
Those living in the Fermanagh and Omagh area also fare well, with 81.0% achieving five GCSEs on leaving school (including English and Maths) and 60.1% gaining three A-levels.
The Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon area was the only one to see fewer than half of school leavers pass two or more A-levels (47.3%).
The area also produced the second lowest number of school leavers with five GCSEs (72.3%), though Belfast pupils fared worse, with 71.7% leaving with five GCSEs (including English and Maths).