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.”
Liberal Democrat MP Munira Wilson echoed Labour’s view and said the Prime Minister’s words “mean nothing without the extra funding and staff”
“You don’t need a maths A-level to know it takes more teachers to teach maths to age 18 than to 16,” she added.
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (via Flickr)
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Major Manchester gig WILL be going ahead after band cancels prior dates
Thomas Melia
An upcoming gig in Manchester is still scheduled to go ahead even in light of recent high-profile cancellations of previous dates.
After a string of UK tour date cancellations, The Last Dinner Party, an all-female indie band, are ready to continue with the remaining shows including the upcoming event in Manchester.
Their breakout hit ‘Nothing Matters’ and accompanying album ‘Prelude to Ecstasy’ set them off to a very good start in the music industry and won them their very first BRIT for ‘Rising Star’ this year.
But during their scheduled gig in Lincoln on 28 September, upon entering the venue fans were left feeling ‘uncomfortable and disrespected’ with a security policy at the show which led to many male fans being searched by staff at the venue.
The London-based indie rock band released a statement saying these security checks ‘would not have been implemented had we been made aware of them in advance’.
Unfortunately, the gig was cancelled while fans were in the venue and a show in Cardiff got the axe shortly after too, this time ‘due to illness’.
Their headlining dates for Birmingham and three other UK cities were also cancelled after receiving medical advice, but now they’re back and fighting stronger than ever.
An official statement recently shared on the band’s instagram read: “We want to express how truly sorry we are to have missed the shows this past week and how grateful we are to you all for supporting and understanding whilst we take the time needed to feel better.”
The Last Dinner Party Manchester gig WILL be going ahead. Credit: @thelastdinnerparty on Instagram.
In this, The Last Dinner Party updated fans that they’re excited to play Dublin feeling “revitalised” which commences tonight and if all goes well they will be gracing the crowds of Manchester at the end of the week.
The Last Dinner Party are set to perform their fifth Manchester gig and second show at O2 Victoria Warehouse on 11 October just three weeks since their last stint in our city.
Tickets for The Last Dinner Party’s upcoming Manchester show are still available and onsale here.
Manchester City win watershed case against Premier League over sponsorship rules
Danny Jones
Manchester City have landed an early blow in what is set to be a long and arduous series of legal proceedings over the coming months as they have won a case against the Premier League over their rules around sponsorship and related party transactions.
The current English champions, who have won a record four Premier League titles in a row, launched legal action against the division back in June after claiming that their restrictions around Associated Party Transactions (APT) rules and sponsorships were unfair and unlawful.
Now, as it turns out, an independent panel of three retired judges ultimately concluded that the rules were unlawful and, at least in part, contrary to the Competition Act 1998.
The details of the case are obviously numerous and complex but, in short, it has been found that Man City were unfairly blocked from moving forward with two huge sponsorship deals earlier this year.
BREAKING: Man City has won their legal challenge against the Premier League's Associated Party Transaction rules, which surrounds commercial deals between clubs and their related companies 🚨 pic.twitter.com/ZevrXvOOhd
Although the outcome has been somewhat debated by the league itself, it was decided that the imposed regulations were unfair and “discriminatory in how they operate, because they deliberately excluded shareholder loans.”
Issuing a statement following the decision, the Premier League said they “welcome the Tribunal’s findings, which endorsed the overall objectives, framework and decision-making of the APT system”, adding that it also “upheld the need for the APT system as a whole and rejected the majority of City’s challenges” while reiterating that the rules are necessary for their “financial controls to be effective”.
They went on to add that “the decision represents an important and detailed assessment of the APT Rules, which ensure clubs are not able to benefit from commercial deals or reductions in costs that are not at Fair Market Value (FMV) by virtue of relationships with Associated Parties.”
Meanwhile, the City Football Group responded to the news in a series of bullet points, insisting that the “Premier League was found to have abused its dominant position, […] had reached the decisions in a procedurally unfair manner” and that they will now have to “restate the fair market value of two transactions entered into by the Club.”
Safe to say people have noted quite a distinct difference in tone when it comes to statements from the two parties regarding associated parties and their transactions with clubs but, nevertheless, it’s a victory for the Manc club could have a huge knock-on effect regarding how much teams can spend in the future.
Quite a contrast in wording between the statements from Man City (left) and the Premier League (right) on findings related to Associated Party Transaction rules. pic.twitter.com/H3QkHlwMGM
The Premier League have also reassured that two particular aspects of the existing rules that didn’t fully comply with the Competition Act will be rectified promptly and will be “conducting a process that can allow the league and clubs to enact those specific changes quickly and effectively”.
Not only does this mean that CFG is likely to restart conversations with the two blocked parties – one being the Etihad Group and another with a bank based in Abu Dhabi – but that other clubs could now potentially look into further lucrative sponsorship deals, although ‘fair market value’ will still be assessed.
You can read page 164 of the document which summarises the full Tribunal HERE.
Meanwhile, the still outstanding case against Man City over their 115 charges regarding FFP breaches has now begun, though a decision is still a ways off.
Emily Sergeant -
4th January 2023 
