Only GCSE reform can free up space to teach financial literacy | Letter

Teaching practical maths skills is tricky in an overstuffed curriculum, writes Myles McGinley, in response to an article by Simon Jenkins

Students and teachers alike are calling for a more relevant curriculum that includes vital skills like financial literacy (Sunak is right that our students need financial literacy – but that shouldn’t mean yet more maths, 29 May).

There is no binary choice between the academic study of maths and more specific knowledge of compound interest or inflation. A general anxiety around maths is a predictor for poor financial literacy, while having high levels of both maths and financial knowledge is associated with better financial behaviour than either one alone.