Sir Keir Starmer says he hopes to bring state school standards up to those of their private counterparts within his first term if Labour wins the next general election - though he warned of funding issues due to the state of the economy.
Speaking to Sky News' political editor Beth Rigby, the Labour leader said he wanted to give children "the same opportunities" wherever they were educated and his government would "go at pace" to achieve that goal.
But he would not commit to increasing investment in education, blaming the "damage" the Conservatives had done to the public finances over their 13 years of power.
Earlier, Sir Keir delivered a speech in Kent outlining how he planned to overhaul education, and "smash the class ceiling" that sees children's backgrounds defining what they achieve later in life.
Key pledges included:
• Promising 500,000 more children will hit their early learning targets by 2030
• Investing in speech and language classes to "help our children find their voice"
• Updating the "outdated" curriculum to get children studying a creative arts subject or sport until they are 16
• Changing attitudes towards vocational education by providing more access to post-19 training
• Hiring 6,500 more teachers, making payments to increase retention, and reforming Ofsted
