The prime minister’s “vague idea” of teaching “some form of maths” to all students until they are 18 could take five to 10 years to implement due to “chronic” teacher shortages.
The policy, announced as part of Rishi Sunak’s new year address, has come with very little detail or information about the evidence behind the policy leading to criticism that it is just a political gimmick.
During his Conservative leadership campaign, Mr Sunak said he wanted to replace A levels with a new baccalaureate which would include compulsory English and maths study to 18 and fewer exams at 16. However, this policy announcement was unexpected.
Mr Sunak said: “We’re one of the few countries not to require our children to study some form of maths up to the age of 18. Right now, just half of all 16 to 19-year-olds study any maths at all.
