Added value

IT’S not just the maths skills of young people that are not adding up – the charge equally applies, judging by the political leaks of recent days, to senior members of the last government who should have known better.

By The Newsroom

Published 14th Jun 2011, 07:00 BST

This is a failing that does not just apply to those students whose basic knowledge of numeracy has been found to be wanting at university. As household budgets and pensions become ever more complex, everyone will need an understanding of some basic principles.

Yet, while some suggest that teenagers should remain in school until their maths knowledge reaches GCSE standard, it might pay dividends – numerically-speaking of course – for the teaching of this subject to be fundamentally reviewed.

For, while some people instantly comprehend the science of numbers, others fail as soon as lessons progress from the times table to algebra, logarithms, pie charts and so forth.

Perhaps the time has come for maths to be taught in a way that makes it more relevant to everyday life – and, in the case of the country’s political elite, ensuring that the country never again spends beyond its means.