Schools and colleges say steps are already in place to tackle Great Yarmouth's educational challenges.
Last week, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed the borough was the lowest-ranked local authority with people holding qualifications of Level 4 and above in England and Wales. In Great Yarmouth, only 18.2% of people aged 16 and above have a university-level qualification.
The statistics, using data from the 2021 Census, also ranked the borough sixth for the area with residents having no qualifications with 26.5% having none.
Dr Catherine Richards, principal of East Norfolk Sixth Form (ENSF), said: "Although Great Yarmouth is not ranking as highly as we would like, there are definitely steps being put in place to address challenges."
As well as encouraging many students to study at universities across the country, Dr Richards said ENSF is also taking a proactive approach in encouraging students to pursue higher and degree apprenticeships to become more qualified.
"We're working with brilliant local employers to get the best out of our students," Dr Richards said.
"We want to encourage students to make the best choice for them and as the higher and degree apprenticeship route becomes more popular, the number of people with Level 4 qualifications will increase."
One issue with the data Dr Richards noticed was that it does not give details of people originally from the town who did not return after gaining higher education qualifications.
She added: "We have seen many incredibly able students go all over the country for their studies at undergraduate level.
"Some of our students have even gone as far as the Netherlands and the US.
"The challenge for the borough is to encourage it's wonderful students to come back after their studies and bring all their ideas with them to help the town thrive."
The head of Great Yarmouth's new sixth form, Sir Isaac Newton East - which is run by Inspiration Trust - said the college aims to "open the door to the best university courses".
Farai Chininga said: "As part of our commitment to increasing the opportunities for students in Great Yarmouth and its surrounding towns, we were delighted to open our new sixth form in September."
Mr Chininga said the new sixth form is working in partnership with Cambridge University, the University of East Anglia and Sir Isaac Newton in Norwich.
"We are honoured to be part of the exciting educational changes that are happening in this brilliant town," Mr Chininga added.
Julia Bates, deputy principal for Curriculum and Strategic Partnerships at East Coast College, said: “We are committed to ensuring our students achieve well and reach their full potential, no matter what their starting point.
“Our curriculum plan provides Level 4 and Level 5 opportunities, but also maintains lower-level entry points to ensure inclusivity and accessibility for all.
“There are many local job opportunities and large infrastructure projects such as the Third River Crossing and Sizewell C development which require high-level technical skills, and we want to connect people with these opportunities.”
Ms Bates added that ECC will be further enhanced by its involvement in the town’s learning centre project and through the development of a new college in Suffolk Road.
In adult education, more than 800 Great Yarmouth people have signed up for courses run by Norfolk County Council over the past academic year (2021/22).
People have signed up for classes with Norfolk Adult Education Service, including courses in English, literacy and numeracy skills.
Learners have also accessed support to achieve functional skills and GCSE qualifications in maths and English as well as qualifications in Essential Digital Skills.
The service said its courses are designed to support learners toward employment of further education, as well as boost health and wellbeing.
The county council is also working in partnership with Great Yarmouth Borough Council, East Coast College and the University of Suffolk to create a library and learning hub in the town centre.
Residents can learn with Adult Learning online, in person or a combination of both.
For more information, visit www.norfolk.gov.uk/adulteducation
What else is on offer?
In addition, Apprenticeships Norfolk offers free and impartial information, advice and guidance (IAG) service to all individuals and businesses across Norfolk, working closely with district and borough councils.
Apprenticeships Norfolk has been delivering several initiatives across the county – including Great Yarmouth, to support the take-up of apprenticeships, particularly for small to medium-sized enterprises and those aged between 16 and 24.
Multiply is also a government-funded project which looks to improve numeracy for adults. The Great Yarmouth area has been highlighted as an area in need of improving educational attainment including numeracy.
And a Multiply Champion has been recruited to work in the community to engage with those who have been hard to reach.
The Multiply Champion can be contacted using multiply@norfolk.gov.uk to help community groups set up activities and liaise with our course providers (including Adult Learning and East Coast College) to get to the people who really need the support.
How did other areas in Norfolk fare?
According to data from the 2021 Census, Norwich has the most people in Norfolk with Level 4 qualifications and above, with 34.1% of people having a higher education award, diploma or degree.
The local authorities elsewhere in the county with people with Level 4 qualifications or above are:
South Norfolk 32.0%
Broadland 27.4%
North Norfolk 26.2%
King's Lynn and West Norfolk 23.3%
Breckland 23.1%
Great Yarmouth 18.2%
The lowest three places in England and Wales were Boston, Lincolnshire (19.0%),
Castle Point, Essex (18.5%), and Great Yarmouth, Norfolk (18.2%).
At the top end was Richmond upon Thames (60.4%), Wandsworth (62.6%), and City of London (74.2%).
ONS statistics for the local authorities with no people having any formal qualifications across the county are:
Great Yarmouth 26.5%
King's Lynn and West Norfolk 23.4%
Breckland 22.3%
North Norfolk 20.6%
Broadland 17.6%
Norwich 17.1%
South Norfolk 17.1%
The places with the highest amounts of people without qualifications were Sandwell, West Midlands (28.9%), Blaenau Gwent, Wales (27.9%) and Boston, Lincolnshire (27.6%). Whereas the areas with the lowest amounts of people without any qualifications were Cambridge (9.6%), Richmond upon Thames (9.1%) and City of London (6.6%).
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here