This article appears as part of the Unspun: Scottish Politics newsletter.
Cutting the school leaving age to 14 has been branded both "brilliant" and "reckless" from industry leaders.
So why if there such a divide?
Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay wants the education system to be overhauled so that children under the age of 16 can leave school early.
That move, which he described as "bold", would be for those aged "15, maybe even 14," he said.
The plan would not see children able to freely leave education - they would need to have an apprenticeship or college course lined up.
Its aim is to tackle the problem of school refusers - kids who do not attend classes regularly - which has become an increasing problem since the Covid pandemic.
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But Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth fired back at the plans, arguing it would see working class children leave early, leaving “academic pursuits to the middle and upper class”.
A former Tory donor, 73-year-old Charlie Mullins, is one of the business experts praising the plans.
He grew up on a London council estate and left school aged 15, then completed a four-year apprenticeship and started his own business, selling Pimlico Plumbers to a US firm for £145 million.
The Scottish Tory plans, he believes, is the “best thing I’ve ever heard”.
Poll: Should pupils be allowed to leave school at 14?
Engineer tycoon Jim McColl, who made billions after starting as an apprentice, also backed the plans.
“A lot of these youngsters at school don’t want to be there,” he told BBC Scotland.
"They’re not interested in it. And all of a sudden you’re giving them an opportunity to learn a trade and be earning money. I feel it’s a brilliant move,” he said.
But not everyone thinks it is a sound idea.
The Plumbing and Heating Federation (SNIPEF) described the proposals as "reckless, unworkable and deeply irresponsible".
SNIPEF, is Scotland’s leading provider for modern apprenticeships in plumbing and heating.
Allowing 14 or 15-year-olds to leave school early to pursue an apprenticeship or a college course puts the stringent safety regulations followed by the industry at risk, according to the organisation’s chief executive Fiona Hodgson.
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“It’s an unmanageable logistical and safeguarding nightmare,” she warned, that creates “serious risks” for employers and young people.
Instead of “throwing 14-year-olds into a system riddled with risks,” she said there should be more opportunities for those of “real working age”.
And she is arguing that children leaving school at this age could miss out on the critical skills – maths, science and literacy – to complete qualifications.
Findlay’s plans aren’t necessarily new.
In the party’s 2011 Holyrood manifesto, the party said vocationally focused pathways should be on offer from S2 onwards, and said pupils should be “free” to leave school from the age of 14.
The school leaving age has been 16 for decades.
14-year-olds were last free to leave school in 1901 and it seems unlikely that ministers will return to this approach any time soon.
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