They said... we say...

24th August 2007, 1:00am

Share

They said... we say...

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/they-said-we-say-3
they said...

‘Basic literacy and numeracy problems are a nightmare’

Richard Lambert, director general of the Confederation of British Industry

we say...

THE CBI gained publicity by complaining, again, that many teenagers are leaving school unable to read or write. To prove the point, in a poll of 507 firms, 13 per cent said they offered remedial literacy classes.

Curiously, the CBI made little mention of the findings from a similar poll it published during GCSE week last year. It found that 16 per cent of businesses offered remedial classes in literacy.

So, if the figures give an accurate picture, the number of firms needing to provide catch-up courses in reading and writing has dropped by nearly a fifth in just one year, which should be cause for celebration rather than hand wringing.

There is less positive news for maths teachers, however. The proportion of companies offering maths tuition has indeed increased from 14 to 15 per cent.

Want to keep reading for free?

Register with Tes and you can read two free articles every month plus you'll have access to our range of award-winning newsletters.

Keep reading for just £1 per month

You've reached your limit of free articles this month. Subscribe for £1 per month for three months and get:

  • Unlimited access to all Tes magazine content
  • Exclusive subscriber-only stories
  • Award-winning email newsletters
Recent
Most read
Most shared