What's happening?

The British prime ministerA prime minister is the head of government in a country with a parliamentary system.  Rishi Sunak has made his first big speech of 2023. He has big plans to change how children are taught in schools - and the first step is making sure that every child has maths lessons until they are 18. 

Sunak says he wants people to have the skills to look after their money and use maths at work. "Letting our children out into [the] world without these skills is letting our children down," he said.

Find out more

Today, only half of 16-to-19-year-olds in England have lessons that include maths. Many agree that learning maths is one of the most important skills - it is key to understanding everything from money and computers to language and even poetry. It is also a big part of problem solving. 

Others say we are too focused on maths and exam results. Instead of more maths, children should have more lessons on mental health, politics and even the law. 

Yes! So many parts of adult life rely on having a good understanding of numbers. Schools are letting students down. 

No! Maths is important, but so is art, science and writing. And everyone has a calculator on their mobile phone.