Today the Prime Minister will set out his priorities for the year ahead and ambition for a better Britain, including his goal for all school pupils in England to study some form of maths to the age of 18.
Around eight million adults in England have primary school-level numeracy skills, so we must do more to better equip young people with the skills they need for work and in life. That said, 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.
With this in mind, the Prime Minister will today set out his ambition to ensure all students in England study some form of maths to 18 years old, either through existing routes such as A Levels, the Core Maths qualifications, T-Levels, or through more innovative options. This will equip young people with the numerical skills they need for the jobs of today and the future.
You can find out more HERE.
"Mathematical calculator buttons with ruler" by Horia Varlan is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
