Sunak wants all pupils to study maths to 18on January 3, 2023 at 10:31 pm

The prime minister is looking at plans to ensure all pupils in England study some form of maths until the age of 18.

The aim will feature in Rishi Sunak’s first speech of 2023, which he will use to set out his priorities for the next year.

His speech will come amid a winter of multiple strikes, critical incidents in several NHS trusts and a cost of living crisis.

Mr Sunak is expected to say the UK must “reimagine our approach to numeracy”.

“Yet in a world where data is everywhere and statistics underpin every job, our children’s jobs will require more analytical skills than ever before,” he is expected to say in his speech.

“And letting our children out into the world without those skills, is letting our children down”.

Just half of 16 to 19-year-olds study maths, according to Mr Sunak – but this figure includes pupils doing science courses and those who are already doing compulsory GCSE resits in college.

It is not clear what the plans will mean for students who wish to study humanities or creative arts qualifications including BTecs.

In a statement, a 10 Downing Street spokesperson said there are no plans to make maths A-Level compulsory for all 16-year-olds. The government is instead exploring expanding existing qualifications as well as “more innovative options,” the spokesperson added.

The PM is expected to begin working on the plan in this parliament and finish it after the next general election, according to statement.

According to the Association of School and College Leaders there is a “chronic national shortage of maths teachers”.

Labour’s shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson called on Mr Sunak to “show his working” on how greater participation in maths will be funded.

“He cannot deliver this reheated, empty pledge without more maths teachers, yet the government has missed their target for new maths teachers year after year,” she said.

Liberal Democrat education spokesperson, Munira Wilson, called the aim “an admission of failure from the prime minister on behalf of a Conservative government that has neglected our children’s education so badly”.

“Too many children are being left behind when it comes to maths, and that happens well before they reach 16,” she added.

In 2011, the then education secretary Michael Gove said he would like to see the “vast majority” of pupils in England studying maths to the age of 18 within a decade.

Mr Sunak will also use tomorrow’s speech to set out his priorities for 2023 after one of the most tumultuous years in politics.

Strikes have disrupted everything from train services to postal deliveries and hospital care. Some 417,000 working days were lost to strikes in October, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

More workers are expected to take industrial action, as demands grow for better working conditions and pay increases to keep up with rising prices.

Previously Mr Sunak has promised “tough” legislation to clamp down on strikes by setting minimum service levels on railways and in the NHS.

The head of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, Dr Adrian Boyle, has said between 300 and 500 people were dying every week as a result of delays to emergency care.

In November, around 37,837 people waited more than 12 hours in A&E for a decision to be admitted to a hospital department, according to latest NHS data.

Last year inflation hit a peak of 11.1%, it’s highest figure in 40 years, driving up the cost-of-living across the UK.