Letter: Failing the sweet shop maths exam

Letter: Failing the sweet shop maths exam

Sir: Margaret Brown ("Our children bad at maths? It just doesn't add up", 5 June) attempts to pour cold water on the idea that children in this country are not as good at maths as they used to be.

I have a sweet and grocery shop in a residential area and we find it remarkable if any of the 300 or so children who come in every day can add up the price of two items (even if the the price is the same) and we spend the whole day answering questions such as, "How much will I have left if I buy this?", as they hold a 40p bar of chocolate in one hand and a 50p piece in the other. And this from children of all ages.

This is proof enough for me that there is something dangerously wrong with our schools.

J S BRISKHAM

Stevenage

Hertfordshire