Scottish Young People's Survey Cohort 1983-84, Sweep 1 (SYPS1985)

The Scottish Young People Survey (SYPS) cohort series was a postal survey in which questionnaires were initially sent to young people approximately nine months after they had completed their 4th year in secondary school. The survey covered the following topics: experience of school; curriculum; attainment; post-school destinations; entry to labour market; employment; unemployment; training; YTS/employment schemes; further and higher education; attainment and aspirations of young people; attitudes to training/education; attitudes to school and after; social background. In order to make the questions relevant to the respondents' experiences and to reduce the overall number they were required to answer, the questionnaires were divided into several different types and targeted according to the information about sample members provided by the schools (i.e. expected stage of leaving school). The 1983/84 Cohort began with the 1985 survey of a school-year group of people who were in their last compulsory year (4th year) in Session 1983-84. (The cohort included young people who left school from 4th year in 1983-84 who were also represented in the concurrent survey of school leavers). A second sweep of the school-year group cohort was carried out in spring 1986, with a third sweep in autumn 1987.