Expert group to advise on Sunak's 'maths to 18' vision

The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reaffirmed his ambition to ensure that every young person studies some form of maths up to the age of 18.

This will not mean every pupil studying maths A-Level. Instead, government will work to ensure that we have the right teaching framework and qualifications in place to deliver maths to 18 in the most effective way for students of all abilities.

A new advisory group, comprising of mathematicians, education leaders and business representatives, will be established to advise government on the core maths content that students need to succeed in future. Taking evidence from countries which have high rates of numeracy and from employers across the country, the group will also advise on whether a new maths qualification is required for 16-18 year olds.

The Prime Minister said: "We will not deliver this change overnight. We’ll need to recruit and train the maths teachers. We’ll need to work out how to harness technology to support them.

"And we’ll need to make sure this maths is additional to other subjects – not instead of them. But we are taking the first step today by identifying the maths content that will give our 16-to-18 year olds the skills they need to get on in life”.

The Prime Minister has also committed to extending Maths Hubs – which are partnerships of schools and colleges coming together to support maths teaching – as well as introduce a new voluntary and fully funded professional qualification for teachers leading maths in primary schools.