Potentially millions of British adults regret not taking maths more seriously at a younger age, a poll has found. As a result only one in five said they felt “very confident” when helping their kids with secondary school maths work. Others said they wished finances, numeracy and budgeting had been a bigger part of their life at home and school when they were younger to avoid difficulty later on in life.

A total of 43 per cent of the 2,000 adults admitted to wishing that they concentrated more on the subject when they were at school. The younger generation are particularly appeared particularly susceptible to this problem, with Generation Z (eighteen to those in their mid-twenties) with the least  money management skills, followed by millennials.

It was found that thirty one per cent of headteachers last year agreed that the qualification for 16-year-olds is good preparation for students for work, compared to fourty two per cent in 2017, according to an exams regulator. The findings come after a number of high-profile figures in the sector called for GCSEs to be replaced with a qualification which recognises academic and technical skills. 

The decline in confidence headteacher confidence comes in the wake of tough new GCSEs in England – where A* to G grades have been replaced with a 9 to 1 scale to create a gold standard qualification. Many people watch YouTube videos from millionaires who criticise the education system for teaching pupils the wrong thing. They argue that most students will never need to know Chemistry as it has no real-world applications. No school teaches money management, how to start and run a business, about taxes or how to save for example. They are taught not to make mistakes.

However, mistakes are where you learn, and making them is fine as long as it means you gain something from it. Parents want their children to get good grades so they can go onto higher education and get the qualification for their future careers and this is our goal as educators and as a headteacher. My advice to students is do what you need to do and realise that however individual you are, it takes time to develop that. In the meantime, keep your head down and keep reading the posts on the Peter Gale headteacher website. Find out more about Peter Gale teacher here. You can also read about Peter Gale teacher on Wikipedia.