1,670 students (or 8.16%) dropped out of school without securing a qualification, the education ministry said in a statement on 20 May. The rate was below a 10% EU target threshold.

The national youth service managed to contact 1,323 of the students who dropped out, finding that boys represent 60% of dropouts. Students in their third or fourth year of secondary school represented 46% of teenagers who left without a qualification.

These years are pivotal in the Luxembourg school system as students specialise into different academic paths, which will to some extent determine their future career choices.

Students listed not having secured a traineeship (for those in a vocational programme), a lack of interest and health problems as the most common reasons to drop out.

The rate of dropouts decreased from 9.29% in 2016/2017 to 7.97% in 2018/2019, with a slight increase last year. The ministry is awaiting the results of 2020/2021 to more fully assess the impact of the pandemic on the decision by teenagers to leave school.