Rishi Sunak has admitted the UK needs time to recruit more maths teachers, adding that his compulsory maths plan would not involve forcing students in England to study the subject to A-level.
Speaking at the London Screen Academy, a sixth-form college in Islington, Sunak mounted a robust defence of the policy, saying it was his personal passion to change the “anti-maths mindset” that made it acceptable to joke about having poor numeracy. But he gave no guarantees that the changes would be made before the next election.
The prime minister said there were already problems in the current levels of maths teaching, including a shortage of teachers and about a third of young people already unable to pass maths GCSE.
“I am not saying the answer is A-level maths for everyone,” he said, without committing to whether young people would even be examined on the extension of maths education.
“But we do need to work out the maths our young people should study. So we’re going to look at what 16- to 18-year-olds around the world are learning. And we’re going to listen to employers and ask them what they say the maths skills are that they need.
