From:Department of Education and Youth

The Minister for Education and Youth, Hildegarde Naughton, has today (Monday) welcomed the publication of the latest retention rates report, which shows significant and encouraging progress across Ireland’s post-primary education system, with several key indicators reaching record highs.

The report shows that98.4% of students completed the Junior Cycle, the highest retention rate since records began, reflecting strong engagement in early post-primary education and continued success in supporting students through these critical years.

Performance in targeted programmes has also improved markedly. TheJunior Certificate Schools Programme recorded a completion rate of 99.2%, up significantly from 94.8% for the previous cohort, demonstrating the impact of focused supports for students at risk of early school leaving.

Significant progress has also been made in advancing inclusion.Retention among Traveller students has reached a record 92.5%, a substantial increase from 78.3% in the previous cohort, representing meaningful progress in educational equity.

At Senior Cycle,90% of students progressed to sit the Leaving Certificate, maintaining strong overall retention levels. TheLeaving Certificate Applied programme also achieved a record retention rate of 86.1%, underlining the importance of diverse pathways in supporting student success.

Encouragingly, thegender gap has narrowed from 3.2 to 2.9 percentage points, indicating greater balance in outcomes between male and female students.

Retention rates remain strong across school types, withvoluntary secondary schools at 91.6%, followed bycommunity and comprehensive schools (89.7%)andETB schools (87.2%), all maintaining stable performance.

Progress continues in addressing educational disadvantage.DEIS schools improved their retention rate to 84.1%, while the gap between DEIS and non-DEIS schools narrowed by 1 percentage point.

"These record levels of retention across our post-primary system demonstrate the real and sustained impact of our investment in education and targeted supports, ensuring more young people than ever are supported to complete their schooling and reach their full potential in an inclusive and high-quality education system.”