Can YOU solve these maths questions from an 11+ exam?
>
Once again, MailOnline challenges you to try to solve the same problems that an 11 year old is faced with preparing for an 11+ exam.
Every year, some 100,000 students from across the country sit more than 11 exams in the hope of landing a place in the highly coveted primary school.
Adults have started sharing number puzzles online this week in response to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s promise to make math compulsory for all students up to the age of 18.
So MailOnline asks… Can You Solve These 11+ Recent Questions Set For Prospective Elementary School Students? (Answers at the bottom of the page)
MailOnline challenges you to try to solve the same problems that an 11 year old is faced with preparing for an 11+ exam.
In a bid to combat high illiteracy rates in the UK, Sunak this week declared his new plan for all pupils in England to study some form of mathematics up to the age of 18.
Young people will be forced to take ‘some form’ of mathematics delivered through new courses or existing qualifications such as A-levels, T-levels and Core Maths.
The Prime Minister promised to equip children for the “jobs of the future” by tackling the UK’s high literacy rates.
For most, driving is likely to involve practical skills rather than algebra.
Around eight million adults in England have the numeracy skills expected of primary school children, according to government figures.
Currently, only about half of 16-19 year olds study mathematics in any way.
The problem is particularly acute for disadvantaged students, 60% of whom do not have basic math skills by age 16.
The UK remains one of the only countries that does not require children to study some form of mathematics until the age of 18.
Several countries in the OECD economic forum, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Finland, Japan, Norway, and the US, insist that students stick to the subject.
Every year, some 100,000 students from across the country sit more than 11 exams in the hope of landing a coveted primary school spot.
But union leaders have warned that teachers are now more likely to strike after backlash over Sunak’s math promise.
Kevin Courtney, who oversees more than 300,000 educators as assistant general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), accused Sunak of a “shocking failure” in realizing the obstacles facing the industry.
“Sunak’s plan is disappointing not only because of its lack of realism but also because of its lack of vision,” Courtney said.
“He ignores the increasingly detailed and urgent debates on curriculum reform that have been taking place in the education sector and even within his own party.
‘Most of the people who voted will have voted. But I think there will be some people who will look at this and think ‘is that all they have to say about education?’
“It doesn’t seem like they are taking the problem of the teacher hiring crisis seriously because they haven’t met their math teacher hiring goals every year for the past 11 years.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared this week his new plan for all students in England to study some form of mathematics until the age of 18. He is shown during a visit to Harris Academy in Battersea, South West London, today.
Teachers, who are currently voting, say the plan does not address the hiring crisis currently plaguing the sector.
More than 500,000 teachers from three unions are considering a possible strike in England and Wales, with deadlines to vote from January 9.
Unions have urged staff to vote as soon as possible amid fears postal chaos could delay the return of ballots.
Meanwhile, opposition parties have dismissed the initiative as “empty”, while conservatives urged Sunak to focus on tackling illegal immigration.
Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson said the prime minister “needs to show his work” as he “cannot deliver on this overheated, empty promise without more maths teachers.”
He added: “However, the government missed its target for new math teachers year after year, and existing teachers left en masse.”
A Labor source said: ‘In their desperation to ensure that Sunak’s speech does not follow Keir’s, No 10 have revealed that they have nothing to offer the country except…double math.
‘As the health service collapses after 12 years of Tory rule, criminals terrorize the streets and workers worry how their wages will last for the month, the country is entitled to ask: is this all?’
Former Cabinet Minister John Redwood tweeted: “While the Prime Minister focuses his attention on teaching mathematics, his election must not be forgotten as the most pressing priority was to stop illegal immigration.
‘Parliament urgently needs to legislate on small boats and public services.’
Nigel Farage also chimed in and said: ‘So Rishi Sunak’s big idea to save the nation is maths till 18! How will quadratic equations help solve Broken Britain?
WHAT ARE THE ANSWERS?
