Rishi Sunak is set to express his desire to ensure all pupils in England study some form of maths until aged 18.

On Wednesday (January 4), the Prime Minister will lay out his priorities and ambitions for the year ahead, which will include a new mission to combat high rates of innumeracy in England.

The UK remains one of the only countries in the world that does not require children to study some form of maths up to the age of 18.

Mr Sunak is expected to say: “This is personal for me. Every opportunity I’ve had in life began with the education I was so fortunate to receive.

The Northern Echo: The UK is one of the only countries in the world that does not require children to study some form of maths up until the age of 18The UK is one of the only countries in the world that does not require children to study some form of maths up until the age of 18 (Image: Canva)

“And it’s the single most important reason why I came into politics: to give every child the highest possible standard of education.

“Thanks to the reforms we’ve introduced since 2010, and the hard work of so many excellent teachers, we’ve made incredible progress.

“With the right plan – the right commitment to excellence – I see no reason why we cannot rival the best education systems in the world”.

Additionally, he will put emphasis on the importance of numeracy, stressing “our children’s jobs will require more analytical skills”.

Mr Sunak will say: “One of the biggest changes in mindset we need in education today is to reimagine our approach to numeracy.

“Right now, just half of all 16 to 19-year-olds study any maths at all. 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.

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

The Government does not apparently envisage making maths A-level compulsory for all 16-year-olds and further detail will be set out in due course.

In response to this Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the Prime Minister needs to show the plan is “based on solid research and is not a pet project”.

He added: “We would also want to hear how such a policy would avoid exacerbating the already-chronic national shortage of maths teachers.”