A GOOD education can be the single greatest transformer of lives.

It is, for many, the route out of poverty and on to a better life. It is also the crucial piece of the jigsaw to ensure the children of today have the skills to meet the needs of the economy of tomorrow.

Giving the young the best start to get on in life and have a rewarding career is an area close to my heart.

Apprenticeships can give them this opportunity to learn a valuable skill while earning at the same time.

The businesses I visit locally are crying out for scientists, engineers and technicians. They are desperate for pupils to leave education better prepared for work. I see apprenticeships as the best route for this.

More GCSE students now study subjects such as languages and sciences, which are most valued by employers but I want every young person leaving school to view an apprenticeship or going to university in equal merit.

Last week I met staff at Wiltshire College who have just secured a good Ofsted inspection and are improving dramatically under a new leadership team and principal.

Their new Chippenham building will open later this year and will be important in further improving results, expanding apprenticeships and giving more opportunity to our local young people.

I will continue to give them my support and am working with them to create an apprenticeships festival for 2016 – details to follow soon.

In Parliament, it was an honour to be elected to the Education Select Committee and I am excited about returning to Westminster next week to begin helping to shape national education policy.

I see it as a key part of that role to have regular contact with local head teachers, teachers, pupils and parents.

I strongly support academies as I believe that theest people to run schools are teachers, not bureaucrats.

It is good that the Government has given schools greater control over crucial areas such as the budget and discipline, through academy freedoms and I would like to see these expand.

Our schools should be able to specialise more in subjects and extra-curricular activities aligned to social and employment need. I am also speaking to parents and teachers interested in setting up new free schools which provide parents with an ever expanding choice of a decent local state school, with high standards, a sense of discipline and a broad and balanced curriculum.

The choice of going to a good school should be for everyone, not just those who can afford private education.

Nothing is more important than providing our children with the excellent education they deserve, which is why I am so focused on educational standards locally and nationally.

What are your thoughts on local education? Let me know by emailing michelle.donelan.mp@parliament.uk