‘Anti-Maths Mindset’ Holding UK Economy Back, Sunak Says

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak giving a speech on education at London Screen Academy, in London, on April 17, 2023. Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA Media

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said an “anti-maths mindset” is holding the economy back, as he announced a review on boosting the nation’s poor levels of numeracy.

Sunak, who was an investment banker before entering politics, told a north London audience on Monday that the UK remains “one of the least numerate countries in the developed world.”

In a speech at the London Screen Academy, the prime minister said a “cultural issue” is behind the numeracy problem.

“I’ll be honest, when my daughters first heard me talk about them doing more maths, they weren’t too excited. And that’s just it.

“We make jokes about not being able to do maths. It’s socially acceptable.

“We say things like, ‘Oh, maths, I can’t do that, it’s not for me’—and everyone laughs. But we’d never make a joke like that about not being able to read.”

Sunak said Britons have “got to change this anti-maths mindset” and “start prizing numeracy for what it is—a key skill every bit as essential as reading.”

A teacher leads a maths class for year 4 children in their classroom at Greenacres Primary Academy in Oldham, northern England, on Sept. 2, 2020. Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images

He said “even just basic numeracy skills” could increase earnings by around £1,600 a year.

“Put simply, without a solid foundation in maths, our children risk being left behind, shut out of careers they aspire to, and the lives that they want to lead.”

The prime minister said he “won’t sit back and allow this cultural sense that it’s OK to be bad at maths to put our children at a disadvantage.”

“We’ve got to change this. We’ve got to value maths, and what it can do for our children’s futures,” he said.

‘Maths to 18’

Sunak has previously announced a “maths to 18” policy for England, meaning every student in England will be required to study maths until the age of 18.

The prime minister said on Monday that Britain is “one of the few developed countries where young people don’t routinely study some form of maths up to the age of 18.”

“They do it in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Finland, Japan, Norway, and America. Why should we accept any less for our children?”

“Let me be absolutely clear: I am not saying that the answer is A-Level maths for everyone, but we do need to work out the maths our young people should study,” he said.

“When I first announced this in January, I saw some of the reaction to it and I thought that actually spoke to this anti-maths mindset that we’ve got to challenge a little bit.”

Sunak said the “big long-term reform” is “not going to happen overnight.”

He said he would appoint a new expert group who will help identify the core maths content that 16- to 18-year-olds need and whether a new specific qualification is needed to support that.

The expert group is expected to unveil their proposals around July.

“Once we have that, you could expect us later in the year to be able to then come back and say this is how we will implement it over what timescale,” he added.

“You can’t rush something like this—it’s a big reform and it’s important we get it right.”

Teacher Shortage

Critics argue that the government has cut its recruitment target for maths teachers by 39 percent since 2020, and has failed to even achieve that.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, urged Sunak to resolve the pay dispute which has led to several teachers’ strikes in England.

“It seems like an attempt to divert attention away from the most pressing matter in education in England, which is the industrial dispute triggered by the erosion of teacher pay and conditions and resulting crisis in recruiting and retaining enough staff,” he said.

“These severe shortages directly undermine the prime minister’s ambition, because it means there are not enough maths teachers to deliver even the existing requirements, let alone extend maths to every pupil to the age of 18.”

The main opposition Labour Party called Sunak’s vision an “empty pledge” which is not supported by a sufficient number of maths teachers.

Labour’s shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “Once again, the prime minister needs to show his working: he cannot deliver this reheated, empty pledge without more maths teachers.

“But after 13 years of failing our children, the Tory government repeatedly misses their target for new maths teachers, with maths attainment gaps widening and existing teachers leaving in their droves.”

Liberal Democrat education spokeswoman Munira Wilson said the government’s plans “don’t add up” because of problems with the recruitment and retention of teachers.

“Parents and children deserve a proper plan to recruit the extra teachers we need, not more empty promises,” she said.

PA Media contributed to this report.