The future of maths education in the UK is facing a deepening crisis as a result of long-standing teacher shortages and declining retention rates, a GCSE maths qualification structure that fails 30 per cent of students, and a decline in funding for adult numeracy education despite over half of UK adults having only low numeracy skills.
Following an evidence session with leading maths education advocates, including teacher-TV presenter Bobby Seagull, the Lords Science and Technology Committee has written to the Education Secretary, Rt Hon Bridget Phillipson MP, setting out its deep concerns for the future of mathematics education in the UK.
The Committee heard that the current GCSE examination system routinely fails 30 per cent of students who are unable to obtain Grade 4 in GCSE maths even after resits, leaving them with nothing to show for their mathematics education.
Witnesses argued that the rigid focus on obtaining a Grade 4 at GCSE disadvantages many students. The Committee supported their argument for the creation of a widely recognised, criterion-based, functional mathematics qualification, that would allow students who don’t pass GCSE maths to demonstrate their numeracy skills.
The Committee are concerned that the UK has missed targets to recruit specialist maths teachers for over a decade, despite generous bursaries. I
t heard that policies to expand access to CPD, to extend flexibility to teachers who wish to work part-time, to recruit from a wider pool of graduates and post-graduates, and to support training programmes for other subject teachers to become mathematics specialists could help address the apparent crisis in mathematics teaching and asks the Minister what measures the Government will take to resolve these problems in recruitment and retention.
The Committee further asks what consideration has been given to reforming the maths education system in light of the growing use of AI, citing recent reports from the Royal Society’s Mathematical Futures and Maths Horizons programmes.
The Committee highlight that adult numeracy levels in the UK are concerningly low, with over half of the adult population having only low numeracy skills, yet the UK will not have a flagship adult numeracy scheme after the conclusion of the Multiply programme.
The Committee asks what plans have been made to fund adult numeracy and a numeracy skills programme following the conclusion of Multiply, building on the lessons learned from that programme, and calls for a national campaign to raise awareness and engagement with adult numeracy schemes.
The Committee asks the Secretary of State to respond to its concerns and supporting evidence by 30 June 2025.
