Adults urged to brush up their maths

Many adults struggle to do basic sums

As many as one in four adults in England could struggle to decipher price tags as they hunt down bargains in the January sales, the government says.

As many as 11 million people are classified as functionally innumerate, which means they have difficulty with basic sums, such as adding up and working out percentages, the Department for Education says.

There are thousands of free courses available across the country to help

John Healey, adult skills minister

After a series of studies in the late 1990s identified the wide-scale size of the problem, ministers vowed that three quarters of a million adults should become literate and numerate within the next three years.

The adult skills minister, John Healey, urged people who struggled with numeracy problems to get involved with Get On - a government campaign aimed at improving the basic skills of adults who left school without any qualifications.

"January is a great time to pick up a few bargains, but if you're not confident with working out percentages or checking your change, you could end up with far less of a bargain than you thought," said Mr Healey.

"Many people find their skills aren't up to scratch because they don't use them regularly or had trouble picking them up at school.

"If you are one of the 11 million people who needs to brush up on your maths there are thousands of free courses available across the country to help you.

"Improving your skills can not only make you a better bargain hunter, it can also lead to a better job and help you in many other ways," he said.

Information packs and advice on local courses are available by calling 080 0015 0650.