Is school maths any use in everyday life?

YOU can be hopeless at maths, but have a successful career in HR (Letters). Should pupils not study English if they find it difficult? I was always top of the class in maths, but struggled with English, scraping the lowest grade pass at O-level. I went on to get a first-class degree in electromechanical engineering, where maths is a must. If algebra and trigonometry are ‘pointless’ and not taught at school, we wouldn’t have engineers and scientists.

MIKE SMITH, Stafford.

I WASN’T good at maths at school and didn’t sit the O-level. However, I took on my self-employed husband’s bookkeeping and did the bank reconciliation. We didn’t learn to do that at school!

MARY CAMERON, Chichester, W. Sussex.

I TAUGHT maths for 30 years and the skills involved are about more than what is needed for everyday life. When have I needed to be able to analyse a poem, list the wives of Henry VIII, name the parts of a flower or recall many of the other things I learned at school? Life would be boring if pupils were taught only what was needed for their job. Education is about broadening horizons.

VAL BURGESS, Durham.

IF THE pandemic has taught us anything, it is that numeracy skills need improving. The BBC’s graphical presentations have been poor, but how many people have the ability to see this? Not everyone can work in an office. We need to train people to manufacture everything we use. Engineers use higher mathematics on a daily basis. New apprentices need a lot of instruction to bring them up to basic levels. The next time you walk up a flight of stairs thinking trigonometry is not needed, be glad that the person who designed the building did study it. MICHAEL LYNCHEHAUN,

Wallasey, Wirral.