School maths flops turn to Sudoko to sharpen their minds

Millions are using Sudoku to improve their maths skills after being turned off the subject by dumbed-down teaching when they were at school, a report claims today.

Many were bright enough to do A-level maths but gave up after GCSE because lessons were too narrow and unchallenging to inspire them, according to the Reform think-tank.

Now this 'lost' generation is discovering an interest and ability in the subject through logic puzzles.

Although you don't need to be good at maths to do Sudoku, the grids  -  which have to be filled with the numbers one to nine  -  demand logical thinking which underpins maths, the Reform researchers said.

They analysed maths papers since the 1950s and found that standards in national exams have been systematically watered down over the past 30 years, allowing pupils to gain a C at GCSE without a proper grasp of the subject.

The report coincided with an attack on falling standards in science and maths from Conservative schools spokesman Michael Gove.

He said it was a 'disgrace' that in one London borough, Islington, not one state pupil sat biology, chemistry or physics as separate subjects at GCSE in 2006.

The Reform report claims that would-be mathematicians have dropped the subject in droves because efforts to make it simpler and more accessible to teenagers backfired, turning off bright youngsters.

It puts the cost to the economy of the missing mathematicians at £9billion since 1990.

The researchers say the popularity of puzzles such as Sudoku and brain-training computer games points to an untapped national enthusiasm for maths.

But schools, weighed down by Government targets and 'tick box' GCSEs, all too often fail to harness this interest and instead resort to narrow teaching which allows pupils to adopt a 'pick and mix' approach, brushing up the topics most likely to harvest marks.

Pupils now need just 20 per cent on high-level papers to score a C  -  a good pass  -  in GCSE maths, the report reveals.

Researchers for Reform estimate that, despite published GCSE results data which appears to show year- on-year gains, less than a quarter of 16-year-olds finish compulsory schooling with an acceptable grasp of elementary maths.

However, countries including Finland, Russia, Flemish Belgium and many in the Far East manage to bring 'large numbers of ordinary pupils' to a decent standard through effective teaching, the report says.

It concludes that O-level maths papers between 1951 and 1970 were a rigorous test of algebra, arithmetic and geometry, requiring pupils to 'think for themselves'.

'By 1980 questions were becoming simpler,' it says. 'Following the introduction of the GCSE there was a sharp drop in difficulty, with questions leading pupils step by step to a solution.'

Attainment rose during the 1950s and 1960s when standards were constant but stagnated during the 1970s.

While the proportion of pupils passing exams rose from 1980 onwards, the standard demanded by those exams was falling.

The report calls for a major shake-up of the exam system and a reversal of a trend toward splitting exams into bite- size modules.

Schools Minister Jim Knight said an independent watchdog monitored standards in maths qualifications closely to make sure they remain world-class.