No more calculus: New real-life maths exam will teach students interest rates for A-Levels
Maths geared toward real-life situations will now be as a subject for 16-year-olds, the department for education revealed yesterday.
Core maths will teach pupils how to apply their maths skills to calculate interest, work out profit margins and get the best currency exchange, and will start being taught in schools today.
The course is the equivalent of an AS level, for sixth-formers who achieved at least a C-grade at GCSE, and aren’t taking maths A-level. The first exams will be taken in summer 2016.
For three marks, pupils sitting the exam must answer the question:
“Sam invests £1,000 in a savings account. The compound interest rate is fixed at four per cent each year. How many years will it take for his investment to exceed £2,000?”
A 12-mark question asks which method of splitting the bill will leave the best tip in a restaurant.
And for 13 marks, you’d have to calculate, showing your working, Imran’s net salary from Acorn Insurance, using his gross salary and details of his pension scheme from HMRC.
Managing director of Brompton bikes, Will Butler-Adams, said the subject should develop “an appreciation of financial management and problem solving.”