The Prime Minister has set out plans for the study of maths to age 18 as part of his mission to combat what he sees as high rates of innumeracy in England.

As part of his new year’s speech, Rishi Sunak announced numeracy as “a central objective of the education system” in order to better prepare young people for the jobs of the future which will require more analytical skills.

The Prime Minister added that the studying of maths to 18 will not mean compulsory maths A Level for everyone but that the Government will work with the education sector to “move towards all children studying some form of maths to 18”.  

Whilst currently low on detail, the DfE says that further information will be set out in due course and that existing routes are currently being explored such as Core Maths qualifications and T Levels, as well as more “innovative options”.

Those of us with long memories will recall the debates around maths as part of the Review of Maths Education for 16-18 year olds carried out in 2017 by Professor Sir Adrian Smith.  The Review concluded that post-16 maths should be universal but not compulsory given that we do not yet have the appropriate range of pathways or the teaching capacity to deliver the required volume and range.