'Drop maths from core GCSE curriculum'

Maths should no longer be a compulsory GCSE subject because pupils should have more time for subjects that would be more useful to them in later life, a teachers' union leader said yesterday. Terry Bladen, president of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers and a maths teacher, outlined his proposals to bring "creativity" back into the curriculum at the union's annual conference in Bournemouth.

While all children should learn the skills needed to be numerate, it made no sense to force 14 to 16-year-olds to study more advanced concepts such as quadratic equations and trigonometry, he said.

These topics should be left to students who actually enjoyed maths and planned to study it further. Most pupils would be better off using the time to study creative subjects such as arts and the humanities, he added.

The Government recently announced plans to reform post-14 education by making modern languages, and design and technology optional GCSE subjects to free up the curriculum.