Rishi Sunak is to set out a new ambition of ensuring that all school pupils in England study some form of maths to the age of 18.
In a speech today the Prime Minister will tell the audience that
This is personal for me. Every opportunity I’ve had in life began with the education I was so fortunate to receive.
And it’s the single most important reason why I came into politics: to give every child the highest possible standard of education.
He will commit to starting the work of introducing maths to 18 in this Parliament and finishing it in the next.
Around 8 million adults in England have the numeracy skills of primary school children. Currently only around half of 16-19 year olds study any maths at all and the problem is particularly acute for disadvantaged pupils, 60% of whom do not have basic maths skills at age 16.
Despite these poor standards, the UK remains one of the only countries in the world to not to require children to study some form of maths up to the age of 18. This includes the majority of OECD countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Finland, Japan, Norway and the USA.
The Prime Minister will commit to take action to reverse these trends by introducing maths to 18 for all pupils in England. He will say:
One of the biggest changes in mindset we need in education today is to reimagine our approach to numeracy.
Right now, just half of all 16–19-year-olds study any maths at all. Yet in a world where data is everywhere and statistics underpin every job, our children’s jobs will require more analytical skills than ever before.
And letting our children out into the world without those skills, is letting our children down”.
Maths to 18 will equip young people with the quantitative and statistical skills that they will need for the jobs of today and the future. This includes having the right skills to feel confident with finances in later life, including finding the best mortgage deal or savings rate.
The government does not envisage making maths A-Level compulsory for all 16-year-olds. Further detail will be set out in due course but the government is exploring existing routes, such as the Core Maths qualifications and T-Levels, as well as more innovative options.
Commenting on the Prime Minister’s plan to expand maths education, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“The Prime Minister’s statement is baffling in its failure to notice the obstacles to his ambitions to extend maths education: schools and colleges lack the teachers to deliver it. His government’s policies for teacher recruitment are not bringing new teachers in sufficient numbers and have missed their target in every one of the last twelve years. The Government have also cut their recruitment target for maths teachers by 39% since 2020. Low pay and the pressures of workload are creating a crisis of teacher retention as well. None of the government’s frequent announcements about curriculum change will be credible unless it addresses these basic problems.
“Sunak’s plan is disappointing not only in its lack of realism but its lack of vision. It overlooks the increasingly detailed and urgent discussions about curriculum reform that have been taking place across the education sector and even within his own party. There is a widespread consensus in favour of change, in the form of an integrated qualifications system that offers every student opportunities to include ‘academic’ and ‘vocational’ elements alongside accreditation for skill development, and inter-disciplinary study. There is certainly a place for maths education in proposals like these. But as a single ‘bright idea’, it is not an answer to the problems of a curriculum which is failing to prepare students for a world of change.”
