QUIZ: how good are your maths skills?

As a survey reveals that a third of adults want to improve their maths, Florence Cook takes a look at the curriculum. What level are you at? Take our quiz to find out

Shock and surprise are often the responses I get when I tell my university peers that I studied maths at A-level. As a History student – and a female – it often doesn’t seem to compute that I chose to study a science alongside my humanities A-levels.

It certainly wasn’t due to any sort of passion for the subject: for me it was purely a tactical decision. Not only would maths be useful to me in boosting logical thinking and helping with everyday activities, it also looked more appealing to future employers.

Indeed, new statistics revealed by YouGov seem to have confirmed my decision, revealing that a third of adults want to improve their numeracy and everyday maths skills.

The survey, commissioned by National Numeracy, revealed a number of reasons why adults in the UK feel the need to improve their numeracy with 37 per cent stating that they wanted to manage their finances better.

Of the parents asked, 46 per cent indicated that their primary motive was a desire to better help their children with tasks such as homework.

Other reasons included improving activities such as cooking and DIY (26 per cent) and being able to better understand statistics in the media (25 per cent).

The importance of maths for everyday life is perhaps sometimes underestimated. Indeed, National Numeracy is pushing for greater awareness of the importance of numerical skills, particularly for personal finances.

Mike Ellicock, National Numeracy chief executive, said: “If you don’t understand the basic maths – for example, the concept of percentages – you are going to struggle to make good decisions about your money.”

Mark Rennision, group finance director of Nationwide Building Society, said: “Knowing your numbers isn’t just for the classroom; it’s a valuable skill that lasts a lifetime.

“Understanding what we spend and what we earn to a greater extent could be the difference between a balanced budget and an uphill money struggle.”

Another supporter of National Numeracy is Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, who stated: “Maths is the lifeblood of good money saving, helping you understand when you’re getting a good deal and when you’re being ripped off.”

However, other findings from the survey revealed that only 51 per cent felt that their maths GCSE (or O-level or Scottish Standard Grade) had helped them in the workplace and over a third (35 per cent) stated that they found aspects of daily life challenging due to a lack of aptitude in maths and numeracy.

Indeed, financial literacy in itself is becoming increasingly recognised as something lacking in education. A GCSE or A-level in maths might still not be enough to ensure that you are equipped with these important skills when you leave education.

Recent attempts to address the lack of financial education in the curriculum have been pretty limited and more needs to be done to ensure that future generations are equipped to deal with the financial challenges ahead.

Reportedly, a growing number of people say poor maths skills are something to be embarrassed about, with 63 per cent admitting that they would feel embarrassed to tell someone they were poor at maths.

Rachel Riley, TV presenter and co-host of Channel 4’s ‘Countdown’ said: “Being bad at maths shouldn't be something to brag about and I'm glad people are waking up to this, but there's no reason to be embarrassed to look for help when it comes to numeracy.

“There are so many opportunities to improve your skills during everyday life, doing even a little a day can make maths feel more familiar and less scary.”

Whether you want to improve your maths to help you put up some shelves, balance the books or help your children with their homework, try out our quiz to find out whether your maths and numeracy skills are up to scratch.

The questions are taken from past KS1 (up to age 7), KS2 (up to age 11), KS3 (up to age 14) and GCSE (up to age 16) papers so you can see how your skills match up. Questions have been adapted into multiple choice format which may have affected their difficulty level.

Check out our other education quizzes:

How well do you know British history?
Test your 'core maths' skills
Can you beat a child genius?
Spelling quiz: how good are you?
How good is your grammar?