This paper discusses the social capital factors that influence post-compulsory school-age student success in rural Queensland. The project was designed to inform policy aimed at boosting state school retention by enhancing the knowledge and understanding of young people, their parents and employers. We interviewed students in the post-compulsory years of school, their parents and potential employers to identify the factors that influence school retention and success. The informants in this paper are the students themselves. Phenomenological case study methodology comprising semi-structured interviews was applied three participant sources (students, parents and employers) in three rural and mining communities in the rural region of Central Queensland - for the purposes of this study these communities are called Community A, Community B and Community C. The data collected and discussed in this paper relate to the student participant component of the study. The student data are reported in tables and case studies and the key issues and recommendations are outlined