PM concedes UK needs more teachers after criticising ‘anti-maths mindset’
Rishi Sunak has conceded the country will need more teachers to deliver on his ambition to get more pupils to study maths until they are 18.
The prime minister made the admission at the launch of his key policy, which he originally announced in January.
Under the plans, a new review will be launched into how maths can be taught to make sure all pupils in England study some part of the subject, without the need to make it compulsory.
An advisory group made up of mathematicians, education leaders and business representatives will be set up to assist the government.
It comes just a week before teachers are set to stage their next strike on 27 April and 2 May in the ongoing dispute with the government over pay and working conditions.
There has been some support for Mr Sunak’s announcement across the education sector, but critics have warned that in order to deliver on the policy there needs to be more specialist teachers and more funding.
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Mr Sunak pointed to existing support for science, technology, engineering and maths [STEM] graduates – such as tax-free bursaries for teacher training – but admitted: “We need already, and we will need more maths teachers.”
In his speech, Mr Sunak criticised the “cultural sense that it’s okay to be bad at maths” – explaining that it puts children “at a disadvantage” for failing to equip them with skills needed in a workplace.
“We’ve got to change this anti-maths mindset. We’ve got to start prizing numeracy for what it is – a key skill every bit as essential as reading,” Mr Sunak told the room of business leaders, students and teachers.
“I won’t sit back and allow this cultural sense that it’s okay to be bad at maths to put our children at a disadvantage.
“My campaign to transform our national approach to maths is not some nice-to-have. It’s about changing how we value maths in this country.”
He added: “We simply cannot allow poor numeracy to cost our economy tens of billions a year or to leave people twice as likely to be unemployed as those with competent numeracy.
“We have to fundamentally change our education system, so it gives our young people the knowledge and skills they need – and that our businesses need – to compete with the best in the world.”
It has also emerged that the government held a review into post-16 mathematics six years ago which came up with a number of recommendations that have not been acted on.
The author of the review, Sir Adrian Smith, was asked to look at the possibility of encouraging students to study maths until the age of 18 but rejected the idea due to concerns about the lack of resources in the education system.
Rishi Sunak is clearly passionate about his cause, but critics question his priorities
Rishi Sunak’s speech on maths lasted all of 8 minutes and 33 seconds.
To continue the topic of the day; that’s 513 seconds or around 14% of an hour.
So this wasn’t a substantial intervention. And the content wasn’t terribly new either.
That said, the prime minister is clearly passionate about the cause, giving detailed and in-depth answers when questioned by journalists.
The specifics of his pledges around mandatory maths are decidedly woolly though. As it stands, this all seems to fall more into the “aspiration” policy box rather than anything more practical or immediate.
At a time when school strikes mean many pupils have days when they are taught nothing, some may question the wisdom of putting quite so much emphasis on a relatively niche announcement about the future curriculum.
The impact this will have on broader economic growth is also up for debate.
Yes, as we edge into an age shaped by artificial intelligence and automation, a knowledge of maths will be essential for many modern workers.
But MPs will point to planning, taxes and labour shortages as other more immediate factors holding back the economy.
It’s in those areas where Mr Sunak will really need to make sure his sums add up in the months ahead.
The UK is one of the least numerate countries among the 38 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) advanced economies, and is one of the few nations worldwide that does not require its students to learn maths up until they are 18.
Downing Street claims about a third of children fail to pass GCSE maths, and more than eight million adults have numeracy skills below those expected of a nine-year-old.
Asked by Sky News’ Beth Rigby why he wasn’t giving a commitment to tackle the issues in education and help students pass maths GCSE now, Mr Sunak replied: “We’re doing both.”
He said the government was starting at primary school level with a range of maths hubs, sharing best teaching practices across schools, as well as making curriculum changes.
“I made the point: we have made progress. We’ve moved up 10 points in the international rankings,” he said. “But we need to do more.
He denied suggestions that previous governments had “dropped the ball” on maths standards, saying: “Our track record on this stuff is great.”
However, he admitted that the changes wouldn’t happen “overnight” and that the government would wait until after July to announce how it will implement its “maths to 18” policy.
Ahead of Mr Sunak’s speech, 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.
“Labour does not need a new advisory group to make the right choices for our children. We will drive up standards in every corner of our country by investing in thousands more teachers, including maths teachers, by ending tax breaks for private schools.”
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Sam Sims, chief executive of the charity National Numeracy, said: “Addressing poor numeracy needs to start much earlier than 16. We need a cradle to career vision for numeracy in the UK.”
However, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, Geoff Barton, said: “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.
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“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 Liberal Democrats also criticised the announcement, arguing that it broke rules around purdah – the name used to describe the period immediately before elections or referendums when restrictions on communications are applied.
The party has written to Cabinet Secretary Simon Case to report the alleged rule breach ahead of the local elections on 4 May.
Liverpool have won the Premier League title after a 5-1 victory over Tottenham at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s men did it in impressive style, turning over Spurs in a convincing win.
It was a rocky start for the Reds after Dominic Solanke put the north London side ahead.
However, fortunes quickly changed in the first half as Liverpool scored three times without a response.
Captain Virgil van Dijk (centre) celebrates. Pic: Reuters
Salah on his knees in celebration after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott (below) and Jarell Quansah celebrate after full-time. Pic: PA
Slot cheers after the full-time whistle. Pic: AP
In the second half, it took until the 63rd minute for Mohamed Salah to make it 4-1 before a fifth followed.
The Reds have won the title in manager Arne Slot’s first season in charge, and move level with fierce rivals Manchester United on 20 league championships.
But it makes them arguably the most successful English club ever as they have won more European Cup or Champions League titles.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told Sky Sports after the final whistle: “It’s special and it’s something that we don’t take for granted. It’s amazing.
“A lot of emotions before the game, during the whole week, but we got the job done and we (are) truly deserved champions of England. (Liverpool is) the most beautiful club in the world and I think we deserve all of this. Let’s enjoy the next couple of weeks and let it sink in.”
Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas poses with a Premier League trophy cut out. Pic: Reuters
Manager Arne Slot and his team after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Slot took over last summer from Jurgen Klopp, who guided them to their previous and maiden Premier League title triumph in 2020, when the COVID-19 lockdown saw matches played behind closed doors.
He is the first Dutch manager to win the Premier League and the fifth man to do so in a debut campaign after Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Manuel Pellegrini, and Antonio Conte.
Speaking to Sky Sports he said: “They [the players] did an outstanding job today. The main job was to win. Everyone said we had got it already. But we had to make sure and we got over the line.”
Several players, including Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah, played leading roles in both the 2025 and 2020 campaigns.
Van Dijk and Salah recently signed new contracts extending their careers at the club.
Mohamed Salah takes a selfie with fans after scouring the fourth Liverpool goal. Pic: AP
Fans at Anfield during the game. Pic: AP
Fans in the stands at Anfield before full-time. Pic: Reuters
Liverpool will have to wait until the final game of the season – at home to Crystal Palace on 25 May – to be presented with the Premier League trophy.
It will be the first time the club’s fans will have seen their side lift the top-flight title in person since 1990.
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Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
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Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
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