Children would learn creative subjects like art and drama, or sport up to 16 under a Labour schools shake-up that will "tear down barriers to hope".
Keir Starmer promised major reforms to the school curriculum yesterday as he vowed to "shatter the class ceiling" holding ordinary kids back.
In a highly personal speech in Gillingham, Kent, Mr Starmer told how seeing his toolmaker dad feel “looked down upon" and "disrespected” because of his job had pushed him to end the snobbery around the academic/vocational divide.
He vowed to "break the link" between young people's success and their parents' earnings with an overhaul of the curriculum and a boost for skills reform.
Pupils would be encouraged to study sport, art, music and drama throughout school to help boost confidence and communication skills, and ensure kids from disadvantaged background don't miss out.
State schools would also teach pupils how to speak fluently and clearly to help them get ahead and end the “short sighted” focus on writing and reading, Mr Starmer said.
He said primary schools would start teaching digital skills to prepare kids for the future. But he argued that it wasn't a binary choice between learning out-of-date IT and forcing every child to become a coder.
The plan to boost opportunity is the last of the Labour leader's five "missions" for Government - and a "personal cause" for the Labour leader, who was the first person in his family to go to university.
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Growing up in a working class family in the 1970s, "there was a sense that enterprise, hard-work and imagination would be rewarded in Britain, that - even in tough times - this would see us through, and that things would get better for families like ours," he said.
"The question is, do we still believe it? Do you look around our country today and believe - with the certainty you deserve - that Britain will be better for you or your children? Because you should."
He added: "I promise you this: whatever the obstacles to opportunity, wherever the barriers to hope, my Labour Government will tear them down.
"And as with all our missions, we’ll do so spurred on by clear and measurable goals that we will change Britain, and break the link between where you start in life and where you end up.
"We can measure that. The earnings of our children should not be determined by those of their parents."
Labour will draw up a new national skills blueprint and replace the unpopular apprenticeship levy, which businesses have complained doesn't work.
Mr Starmer also promised to resolve the recruitment and retention crisis in schools with £2,400 bonuses for newly qualified teachers to prevent the exodus from the classroom.
Labour would recruit more than 6,500 teachers to ease staffing shortages - and ensure kids are taught by specialists in key subjects.
The party is expected to fund recruitment and retention plans though cash clawed back by axing taxing breaks for private schools, which Labour believes will raise at least £1billion.
It will also use these funds to invest in interventions to improve speaking skills among children.
He accused the Tory Government of not caring about school standards, which are "the most fundamental front line in the battle for more opportunity".
Mr Starmer said Rishi Sunak had “given up on education reform” by abandoning Covid catch up plans and leaving struggling schools to battle with staff shortages and crumbling buildings.
The Prime Minister has repeatedly spoken of his dream to see children study Maths until 18 but the bitter pay dispute with teaching unions has overshadowed wider schools policy.
Mr Starmer refused to commit to a 6.5% pay rise for struggling teachers, who are taking their seventh day of nationwide industrial action in England on Friday.
He said "we'll have to wait and see" what the independent pay review body proposes for teachers, which is believed to be a 6.5% wage hike.
However the Government has refused to publish the findings - and has even signalled that it could offer lower pay increases than recommended.
Mr Starmer was also quizzed on why none of his five missions focus explicitly on stamping out child poverty.
He insisted Labour was as “laser focused on poverty” as Tony Blair's Government, saying: “Getting rid of poverty is the foundation in which these missions sit.
“The resolve to deal with poverty is just as great for an incoming Labour Government as it was in the last Labour Government.”
The speech was cautiously welcomed by unions, who said clarity on investment in education was vital after years of Tory cuts.
NASUWT General Secretary Dr Patrick Roach said: "Teachers will be looking to a future government that can demonstrate it understands the deep systemic challenges within the education system and is committed to taking the action necessary to end the teacher recruitment and retention crisis."
NAHT leader Paul Whiteman said there was "much here we would welcome" but warned that "a world class education system requires sufficient funding and resources".
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