EEF responds to government plan for maths educations until 18

Professor Becky Francis CBE, chief executive of the Education Endowment Foundation, responded to the announcement that the government intends to extend compulsory maths education to 18 year-olds

Professor Becky Francis CBE said: “The prime minister’s first major education policy announcement is well-intentioned. It is undeniably important that young people leave education with a good grounding in maths, so that they can access opportunities in later life.

“However, there are more urgent priorities than maths to 18 for all.  We face a shortage of maths teachers, so addressing this recruitment and retention challenge will be crucial to the success of any maths education policy.

“A significant number of young people (around 85,000 a year) already study maths at A-level. Many others will continue with maths education after their GCSEs because they’ve missed out on a good pass and are required to take resits.

“Last year just one in five students retaking their maths GCSE went on to pass, a proportion that has remained stubbornly low since the policy was introduced in 2015. Young people from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds and students with SEND are overrepresented in this group.

“We need to focus on understanding how best to support more young people – particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds – to achieve a good grounding in maths by the age of 16.”