Rishi Sunak is expected to soon unveil plans that will make it compulsory for all pupils in England to study maths up until the age of 18.
It’s believed to be part of the Prime Minister‘s “new mission”.
According to UK government figures, it’s thought that around eight million adults in England have the numeracy skills of primary school aged children, and 60% of disadvantaged pupils nationwide do not have basic maths skills at 16.
But the Prime Minister is expected to set out a pledge to address this in his first speech of the year today and explain why he wants pupils to study some form of maths until 18.
Mr Sunak will apparently make his mission to “reimagine our approach to numeracy” clear in his speech, while enforcing his belief that “letting our children out into the world without those skills is letting our children down.”
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He is expected to say in his speech today: “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-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.”
New Year is a time for optimism, but I know there’s also a lot of apprehension.
I am working night and day to change that, and quickly.
A spokesperson for Number 10 said details of the Prime Minister’s “new mission” will be announced “in due course”, but that the government did not “envisage” making maths A-Level compulsory, and is instead exploring the right route for these plans.
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These include the Core Maths qualifications, T-levels, and other “more innovative options”.
During the speech, Mr Sunak is expected to acknowledge that “reform on this scale won’t be easy”, and this will likely mean that the policy will not come into force until the next parliament.
Downing Street said pupils studying maths until 18 would put England on a par with most other OECD countries – including Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Norway, and the US – although, these initial plans haven’t been met well by opposition parties, with Labour saying the whole thing would be “an empty pledge” if they could not recruit more maths teachers.
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Rishi Sunak to make it his ‘mission’ that all pupils in England study maths until 18 / Credit: Jeswin Thomas (via Unsplash)
Labour’s shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson criticised the plan and Mr Sunak, saying: “He cannot deliver this reheated, empty pledge without more maths teachers.
“Yet the government has missed their target for new maths teachers year after year, with existing teachers leaving in their droves. Now, maths attainment gaps are widening yetRishi Sunak as chancellor said the country had ‘maxed out’ on COVID recovery support for our children.”
The body of woman who was found in the River Mersey last year has finally been identified.
Following what has been described as an ‘extensive investigation’ by Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Major Incident Team to determine the identity of the body, which was sadly discovered in the river adjacent to Chorlton Water Park on 21 March 2024, the family of the victim has now been informed and supported by specialist officers.
The victim has been formally named as 38-year-old Laura Stanley, who was originally from Derbyshire but was living in Stockport.
After the body was discovered, and ‘exhaustive and determined’ investigation by GMP officers began to identify here, including detailed checks of both national and international databases.
The Major Incident Team (MIT) also closely worked in collaboration with specialist forensic service providers to create an anthropological profile, which eventually culminated in the creation of a facial reconstruction image.
Following several media appeals, a relative of Laura contacted officers and then a DNA match was confirmed through a familial link.
“Laura was a kind and gentle person with a great sense of fun and adventure,” Laura’s family said in a heartbreaking tribute to her.
“She was generous, thoughtful, caring and always keen to volunteer within the community. Laura was a proud and loving mum and she will be greatly missed by her girls and all of her friends and family who loved her dearly.”
The River Mersey, across from Chorlton Water Park, where Laura’s body was discovered / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
While Laura has now been identified, police say further investigations will take place to understand her last movements, the events that led to her death, and her discovery in the river.
Additionally, as is standard practice, GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate is also reviewing a previous missing report relating to Laura in the time before the discovery of her body, which will determine prior contact relating to Laura, and whether the appropriate measures were enacted.
#UPDATE | A woman who was discovered in the River Mersey last year has been identified following an extensive investigation by officers in GMP’s Major Incident Team.
Thank you to those of you who have shared our appeals over the last year.
Anyone who knew Laura and thinks they may be able to assist with the investigation is asked to contact police by calling 101, or by using the Live Chat Service at gmp.police.uk, quoting log number 1191 of 21 March 2024.
Alternatively, you can contact the Major Incident Team Syndicate 3 directly on 0161 856 9479, or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
More than 70,000 home buyers across England are estimated to have missed the stamp duty relief deadline.
This sadly means they’ll be required to fork out thousands of pounds extra.
In case you hadn’t heard, up until yesterday (31 March 2025), anyone who was moving and had bought a home in the past was not required to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax, better-known as just stamp duty, on the portion of the property price up to £250,000.
But from today (1 April), this threshold has now fallen back to £125,000, which unfortunately means that property purchasers are facing an extra £2,500 in moving costs, on average.
While the end of the stamp duty relief will mostly affect those Greater Manchester buyers who had already previously purchased properties, first time buyers are sadly not exempt from the deadline changes too, as their current stamp duty threshold of £425,000 has now fallen back to £300,000 as of today.
Person holding the keys to a new house in their hand / Credit: Maria Ziegler (via Unsplash)
Given that the average property price for a first time buyer-type home is currently around £227,965, according to Rightmove, the new £300,000 threshold may hit those purchasing properties in more expensive areas – particularly the South East.
A third of those estimated 70,000 home buyers who have missed the deadline are thought to be first time buyers.
Leading property platform Rightmove published an analysis in February into just how much of an impact the end of the stamp duty relief would have on home buyers, all while calling on the UK Government to announce a short extension to the deadline to help people in the middle of the property purchasing process avoid potentially thousands of pounds in extra moving costs.
But despite these calls from industry leaders, there was no extension to the deadline announced in the last week’s latest Spring Statement.
“It’s extremely disappointing that the Government has not used the Spring Statement as an opportunity to extend the impending stamp duty deadline for those currently going through the home-moving process,” commented Rightmove’s property expert Colleen Babcock.
“We estimate over 70,000 people are going to miss the deadline and complete in April instead, and a third of those are first time buyers.”
Emily Sergeant -
4th January 2023 
