In a cost of living crisis and with widespread strike action taking place across the education sector, it is always going to be difficult for the government to build momentum behind any new policy ideas. 

That said, there is one proposal that the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appears particularly keen on: an ambition for all pupils to study maths until the age of 18. 

As it stands, around half of 16 to 19-year-olds in England study some form of maths after age 16, yet the Prime Minister’s desire to increase this proportion seemed to generate more questions than answers.  

Did he mean maths or numeracy? Would it only apply to school pupils, but not those in college or on anapprenticeship? How much will it cost, and who will teach the extra maths lessons needed to realise his ambition? 

To delve into these tricky policy questions, we are joined today by Sarah Waite, the chief executive of Get Further – a charity that provides tutors for students retaking GCSE English or maths in further education - and Jack Worth, an education economist at the National Foundation for Educational Research. 

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