The Education Secretary, David Blunkett, is going along to one of the numeracy schools, at Handsworth Grange Secondary in his Sheffield constituency, to emphasise the importance he attaches to improving children's basic numeracy skills. When most primary schools return after the long holiday in England next month, they are due to be starting the national numeracy strategy, with an hour a day dedicated to maths teaching. Although the numeracy strategy was planned to begin a year after the similar literacy strategy, introduced last autumn, many schools which were having to rewrite their timetables chose to embark on both programmes at the same time. The hope is that this drive will in the long run improve the country's poor record in adult basic skills. So many young people need to catch up in order to become part of the literate and numerate workforce of the 21st century.
Summer schools can help make the difference to the life and job chances.