Menu

News

National Numeracy Day 2019 - Thousands take the first step towards better number skills

20 May 2019

Take part in National Numeracy Day 2021

On Wednesday 15th May 2019, National Numeracy Day successfully got the nation thinking about numbers for the second year in a row. With the activity of our 10 lead supporters, 201 champions, and 600+ organisations and institutions engaged in the day, we had a wonderful platform for raising awareness of the importance of numbers in everyone’s lives and spreading the message that we are all numbers people. Thanks to the National Numeracy Day campaign, the total number of people now engaged in improving numeracy is over 40,000. With more press and media coverage still to come over the next week or so, we expect this number to grow even more. 

National Numeracy

On the day itself we had some fantastic coverage in the media including Andy Haldane in the Evening Standard, Bobby Seagull in the Financial Times and a letter to editor from lead supporters in the Independent.

Our celebrity ambassadors helped brilliantly to get the conversation going on social media around #EverydayMaths, with some videos you can see below. The involvement across the platforms was amazingly enthusiastic, with other notable profiles getting involved including Amber Rudd MP, HM Treasury, and Susie Dent from Countdown. 

Messages of support from lead supporters and ambassadors: 

How does the UK really feel about numbers?

We also launched our Numerate nation? What the UK thinks about numbers summary report in partnership with The Policy Institute.

The report revealed that millions of adults in the UK could be missing out on the benefits of improved numeracy skills due to a failure to appreciate their importance in everyday life, and finds that: 

  • 43% of people say they do not want to improve their maths and numeracy skills. This is despite government data showing that half2 of working age adults have the numeracy level of a primary school child 
  • 23% say they don’t want to improve their skills because they don’t see how it would benefit them, yet a quarter have been held back from applying for a job they were interested in because it listed ‘using numbers and data’ as a requirement 
  • Three in ten people think most people don’t need to use numbers as part of their day jobs. One in five people say politicians hardly ever/never use maths as part of their day jobs which rises to over one in four (26%) when asked about journalists.  
  • Half of people say they would be proud of their child if they were good at reading and writing compared with just one in five (21%) when asked about maths.

The full report and detailed findings can be found here.

Overall, National Numeracy Day 2019 led to: 

Thanks to all who helped make National Numeracy Day 2019 such a success, and to those who will continue helping all year round in our mission to show everyone that they are numbers people. 

Only 52 weeks to go until National Numeracy Day 2020! Until then you can always get involved in a variety of ways – find out how here.

Download the National Numeracy Day 2019 Impact Report

Find out more

We’d also like to thank to our founding supporter, KPMG, as well as our lead supporters: TP ICAP, Santander, Experian, NHS Health Education England, Provident Financial Group, UfI Charitable Trust, Bloomberg, Standard Life Aberdeen, Education Scotland and the Scottish Government. 

Links

Support us

Make a donation

Follow us on

Registered charity number 1145669 © 2014 - 2024 National Numeracy