The contested argument and the readers' response
A debate is underway in the Guardian over the priorities of British schooling, triggered by a 16 October article by Simon Jenkins arguing that for children it would be more important to learn to speak fluently than to study mathematics. In the letters column of 21 October, several readers reject the framing: oratory is considered important, but presenting it as an alternative to mathematics is judged to be an argument that does not hold up. The two skills, it is argued, should grow together and both contribute to job opportunities and full personal fulfilment.
One reader, Dr Jack Abramsky of London, attributes the critical attitude toward the subject to a negative school experience and recalls that the consequences of poor mathematical skills in adulthood are known in economic, social and health terms. According to the letter, however, the British gap remains wide between the number of mathematically literate people needed and the number available. Anxiety about mathematics, it adds, does not justify failing to teach it: it is a social problem to be addressed by improving the quality of schooling and the underlying causes that influence young people's relationship with society.
Why mathematics matters even with AI
A second letter challenges the idea that calculators and artificial intelligence reduce the need to study mathematics. The subject, it is argued, is not limited to calculation: it teaches reasoning, evaluating evidence, solving new problems and asking whether an answer makes sense. These skills would become more important, not less, when technology produces seemingly authoritative answers in seconds: the public must know when to trust them, and mathematics is identified as the basis for that judgment.
The signatories cite the UK's 2025 curriculum and assessment review, according to which strength in core subjects, including mathematics and science, will remain central for young people, and which flags the growing importance of critical thinking and digital skills in a world increasingly shaped by AI. On the economic side, an analysis by the Academy for the Mathematical Sciences cited in the letter estimates that more than 5 million people were employed in mathematical sciences occupations in 2024, contributing £489 billion, equal to 19% of the UK's gross value added. Hence the conclusion that strengthening mathematical skills serves both individuals and the country's future productivity.
Dissenting voices and open questions
Not all the letters focus on the relationship between mathematics and oratory. One reader, Mona Sood of Southend-on-Sea, argues that the ability to communicate is not enough when accompanied by a sense of entitlement and dishonesty, and cites Boris Johnson as an example of eloquence that took him to Downing Street and kept him there despite, according to the letter, excesses and fabrications. Her hope is that schools will include behaviour, integrity and sincerity in the curriculum as foundations of character.
Another account, from Dr Elaine Seymour of London, describes oratory as already a central part of the curriculum at a state primary school in south London, with visible effects on children's confidence and expression, in classes with pupils who have education and health plans, free school meals and English as a second language. Sally Bates, a former headteacher who is now retired, urges people not to underestimate festive productions, class assemblies, concerts, school councils and plays, and recalls without nostalgia the experience of logarithmic tables and slide rules.
The material shows a disagreement over educational priorities, not a policy decision. The economic figures and references to the 2025 review are statements by the letter's signatories and should be verified against primary sources; Jenkins's article is known only through the summary and the readers' quotations. It remains unclear how the government intends to translate the indication about the centrality of core subjects into concrete choices on timetables and curricula, and whether the reported mathematics skills gap is confirmed by updated official data.
