An education centre is calling for more information to be given to Sussex’s youngsters as they prepare to be the first age group forced to stay in education until the age of 18.

After GCSE results day yesterday, Brighton-based Nacro is calling for alternatives to mainstream education to be made clearer to 16-year-olds.

Josh Coleman, education principal at Nacro, said: “We want to get a strong message out to young people that raising the participation age doesn’t just mean staying at school until they are 18.

“There are other alternatives available for those young people who feel let down and believe that school didn’t work for them.

“Young people who make the wrong education choices at 16 could end up effectively being warehoused for the next two years and then branded as truants because they have dropped out.”

Nacro’s education centres around the country run vocational courses that provide young people with the skills and qualifications required to find a job.

More than 13% of 16 to 18-year-olds in England are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) – but Mr Coleman believes keeping young people in education will result in them being better qualified and job-ready.

Sean Atkinson, centre manager of Nacro Education Centre in Melbourne Street, Brighton, said: “Nacro Education offers young people free access to gain the skills they need to get back into education, training or employment through specific and highly supportive education courses.

“If you have not got the grades you were hoping for, not going to college but looking for education or employment, then Nacro can support you with this.

“Our qualifications and training meet the needs of local employers so each young person has the best possible chance of accessing local jobs and training.”

For more information, visit the open day at the centre on Thursday, August 28.