§ Mr. Lilleyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has any information on the 476W proportion of British school leavers able to perform simple arithmetic sums and on the corresponding proportion of German school-leavers able to perform similar sums.
§ Mr. Chris PattenMy right hon. Friend is aware of a number of studies which bear on the relative mathematical attainment of pupils in England and West Germany. While there are considerable technical difficulties in making such comparisons, it appears that pupils of average and lower ability in England do less well in routine mathematical tasks than their West German counterparts. The Government are concerned to improve standards of achievement in mathematics for pupils of all abilities. To this end they are supporting a number of measures designed to improve the teaching of mathematics in schools and the appropriateness of that teaching to the needs of pupils and their future employers.