AIBU to think Rishi Sunak is sadistic and unreasonable to want all pupils to study maths up to 18?

[Boysgrownbutstillathome]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-64158179

To be fair I’ve an 20 year old daughter with a B in a level maths and an 8 at GCSE who struggled yesterday to convert 1800 Thai Baht to Pounds using a 40 - £1 exchange rate. (Even roughly)

This would be pointless unless kids are being taught 'real' maths. How to budget, how inflation works, mortgages etc. This is what is missing and Martin Lewis has been banging the drum on this for years.

But then again, Tories in power don't want an electorate that is financially savvy. Far too many awkward questions would start being asked of them.

If it is going to be calculus etc for all students regardless of ability then you would have a point, but teaching maths in an applied way that is relevant to daily life and general careers would be good thing. It could/should be more about consolidating and practicing maths skills for most. Who knows what they will deliver though.

I agree that it gives greater opportunities for those who for whatever reason are late bloomers too. I definitely disagree with children having to specialise at age 14.

Just because some struggle with a subject is an odd reason to stop making it compulsory. There has been a dumbing down of secondary education for a number of years (primary has improved somewhat) and this needs to stop. People struggle at different things and that is why there are levels at which subjects are thought. To be competent at Maths is a basic education requirement and everyone should be taught it right through to 18 years of age.

I'm completely in favour of this, and I would also add in English until 18 for good measure too.
As a senior level manager I do a lot of recruiting and I'm increasingly frustrated at number of new graduates and school leavers we are recruiting who cannot do basic level budgeting and cannot compose a decent email to a customer.

I'm amazed that this isn't already the case. Here in Ireland, Maths, English and Irish are compulsory until the end of school. Irish being compulsory is debatable, but I think English and Maths are the most important basic core subjects.

This! If a whole generation was taught about inflation etc then most political parties would be screwed. The Tories most definitely do not want an educated electorate

This

It can't happen. There arent enough maths teachers to teach the current amount of maths. They aren't going to be able to find enough more to make it work.
And why pick on maths and not english?

I would like maths / economics mix

The amount of posts going on about ‘they only care about the economy’ are depressing.

Every child should get basics to economics

At the end of the six form/A level maths you should be at a level where are you can progress to study engineering at university. Obviously most people aren't capable of this level of mathematics -it's very difficult for most of us! So what is actually being proposed?

@SockGoddess that's exactly what they are proposing I think, at least a basic understanding of everyday maths for everyone, and a more detailed knowledge for thos with an aptitude/need for it.

I think it's a great idea, obviously the detail needs to be worked up inc the funding and training for more teachers, but a very worthy and useful aim.

And no, I've never voted Tory in my life before I get screeched at!

There is no proper linguistics without maths, statistics and even some level of coding now.

And while the world of science is using English, longer practical experience with learning other language is very helpful for native speakers when communicating with non-native speakers.

Gcse maths is fine, the problem is that people forget it once the exam is over. I would vote for a flexible system which enabled students to upgrade their gcse pass, something combined with news/politics/health so they can better understand the world around them, practical skills and allowing them to do segments of the a level course. Students would be able to mix and match

I have no problems with a curriculum that would bring everyone up to a standard of good functional maths of the kind that is essential for daily life. Beyond that it gets complicated because you would have to cater to so many groups:

• Those who have passed GCSE maths with a grade of 7+ but have no interest in pursuing A level maths
• Those who have scraped GCSE maths and could do with improving their skills
• Those who have failed GCSE maths and need purely functional maths
• Those who are doing A level maths

And that is without addressing the issue of where all those maths teachers are going to come from in a time when teachers are leaving the profession in droves and the government is not interested in paying them properly after years of effective payd cuts.

I think a lot of people would benefit from learning maths more slowly and focussing only on the basics - numeracy, percentages, basic understanding of graphs and statistics, interest rates etc. I.e. Primary school maths, repeated until they understand it. I don’t think this would take until age 18.

Would also bring back gsce marks for wrong answer but right workings

This is a bit silly. The more insightful posts on here on issues such as inflation seem to have economics background and I haven’t noticed they align with a Labour view, probably the opposite tbh or more non partisan.

What kind of maths though. A level maths would likely be too in depth for many, I support ensuring pupils leave school with a good GCSE in maths and making sure no one is left behind, but seems pointless to build on more complex maths. Perhaps instead they should set a target of ensuring every 18 year old leaves with a certain level of maths rather than just making everyone do it until they leave.

He’s said he won’t even consider it unless the Tories win the next election.

Meanwhile, people are dying on trolleys in hospital corridors.

And here we are discussing it.

It’s the most transparent and embarrassing attempt at political distraction I can ever remember.

Very good idea! I come from a country where we do this and we're all better off. I was shocked when I learned it's optional in the UK

Some really good points being made. Personally it was a relief to get my O level in maths and move on, I would not have wanted to have to do extra maths on top of my 3 A levels and O level music in Sixth form. A lot of what I learned I haven't needed since, and we all have calculators to help us now! I agree with the idea of teaching budgetting etc but think this should be optional.

In Ye Olden Times (1996) I took a General Studies A level alongside my other A levels, didn't count towards uni entry grades but did mean that you kept both Maths and English and a language going through 6th form.

If I remember correctly the Maths leant towards the more practical elements (%, discounts, graphs, stats etc) rather than the more esoteric stuff like vectors etc which you never find out in the real world. Everyone had to do it - those doing English and Maths had a head start in those areas but think we had about 4 hours / week scheduled for it. English was discussion of current affairs rather than of a literary text (as in English Lit GCSE) so no revision of a text needed.

For many, simple arithmetic is adequate, some don't seem to be able to that anymore. I used to work in bars as a teenager (before digital tills) and I became an expert in mental arithmetic. Anything beyond that I was completely stumped!!

I absolutely agree op, all this ridiculous policy will do is create a terrible environment for teachers and students. If you are mathematically inclined then fair enough, but to those who are not, this is utterly pointless and futile. There are many teenagers who have learned all the maths they are able to by 16. The teachers will find it impossible to motivate these kids. It’s an awful idea all round that will lead to more mental health problems in our teenagers imo.