Of course, workplaces could set grade requirements for these new compulsory maths qualifications but that would cause more stress and higher workload, linking back to the second point I made. So in short, every industry could lose out if maths is made compulsory up to the age of eighteen.
8/8

Granted, with maths, there isn’t quite the same risk as discrimination isn’t the issue there, so the stakes are far lower. However, causing more people to resent maths than already do could be detrimental to the STEM industry.
7/8

4: Resentment
When I was completing my GCSEs, RS was compulsory at my school, though people were aware that it wasn’t as important as other subjects (unless you planned on having an RS related career). This led to people resenting the subject, not revising for it and behaving far more disruptively in that class than any other. Many cared less about religion and respecting other’s beliefs and disadvantaged those who did care
6/8

3: It Won’t Help
UK students study maths from the age of 4 to the age of 16, and cover maths that can be used in practical life as well as some more theoretical/complex ideas e.g. algebra. The maths A-Level focuses almost purely on maths that is applicable to math/STEM only situations whilst even the Level Three Core Maths qualification studies areas of statistics that most people don’t need in daily life. Simply put, people who wouldn’t have opted in won’t benefit from these extra 2 years.
5/8

If it’s instead, they may become less qualified and less employable for the field they want and are most suited to work in. If it’s as well as, they’ll end up spending less time studying per subject overall, thus reducing their grades across the board. In either case, students who would not otherwise have studies STEM will become underqualified, so a large amount of industries will lose out.
4/8

2: Subject Choosing and Specialising
For those who don’t know, students in the UK specialise by picking just three (or in some cases four) subjects when they are sixteen. If a maths qualification became compulsory, students would either have to study it on top of their other subjects or instead of one of their other subjects.
3/8

1: School Implementation
In my experience, schools already struggle to accommodate for the amount of maths A-Level students - the classes are huge because there’s not enough teachers and time to split them. If there were more maths classes, the struggle would double. Also, some colleges do not have maths departments, and it would be extortionately expensive to add them to places that don’t have them.
2/8

Finally, what sort of things would you like to see on here after the advent calendar? I have some posts planned already but I don’t want to be repetetive so new ideas are absolutely welcome.