Should I Stay or Should I Go? Rural Youth Transitions

Article

Young people today face complex decisions about their future lives, particularly at the point where they leave compulsory education and embark on the transition into adulthood. This report explores the experiences of 16- to 19-year-olds in rural areas at the time of leaving compulsory education, and the immediate aftermath of those transitions. It focuses on the options available to young people and their experiences as they become young adults, with particular emphasis on their movements into and out of employment, education and training.

Young people today face complex decisions about their future lives, particularly at the point where they leave compulsory education and embark on the transition into adulthood. This report explores the experiences of 16 to 19-year-olds in rural areas at the time of leaving compulsory education, and the immediate aftermath of those transitions. It focuses on the options available to young people and their experiences as they become young adults, with particular emphasis on their movements into and out of employment, education and training.

Related items

  1. Someone's hands holding a mobile phone, with social media likes and heart icons floating out of it like bubbles

    Mapping the digital publics

    How platforms shape collective politics in the UK.
  2. Scottish parliament building at Holyrood and Calton Hill, Edinburgh

    Constructive coalitions? What the election means for the seventh session of the Scottish parliament

    What do the results of the 2026 Scottish parliament election tell us about how Scottish politics is changing? What do progressive parties need to do to get back on track?
  3. A close up photograph of a polling station sign on the outside of a building

    Reimagining lawmaking: How to rebuild trust in parliament

    People feel that politics is something that is done to them, not with them. This must change.