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7 August 2026

We’ve taught technical education from 14 since 2017 – the curriculum was the easy part

Thousands of schools chasing the same specialists, equipment and employers is the real risk in these reforms, writes Laurence Frewin
Laurence Frewin Guest Contributor

Principal and chief executive, South Devon College

4 min read
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The government’s plan to expand technical education from age 14 is welcome recognition that young people don’t all learn in the same way. We’ve been doing it since 2017.

At South Devon College, those nine years have shown that a strong academic curriculum can sit alongside technical education without limiting anyone’s future choices. They have also shown that the curriculum is only one part of a much bigger job.

South Devon High School opened in September 2017 with 51 year 10 pupils. We could see young people locally who wanted a different key stage 4 experience without giving up the core curriculum, and nobody was offering them one.

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