Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she plans to take to ensure that academic qualifications are an option for all pupils in East Sussex.

As part of schools’ duty to teach a broad and balanced curriculum, all pupils will continue to study core subjects such as English, mathematics and science, while allowing choices around these core subjects, so that young people can follow broader interests.

We want every young person to benefit from high-quality academic and technical routes that support progression into further study, training and skilled employment. Our reforms to the curriculum and to technical education will help young people develop the knowledge, skills and experiences they need to succeed in work, life and lifelong learning.

We are in the early stages of developing technical education routes from age 14, with rollout intended to begin in some areas from September 2028.

The new routes will include the introduction of new Vocational GCSEs, which will sit alongside existing GCSEs, combining academic excellence in the core subjects of English, maths, and science, with rigorous, vocationally focused qualifications of equal parity and esteem. The intention is to widen young people’s choices, supporting more coherent progression to a range of academic and technical post-16 options.