Multiple problems for Londoners (From Kidderminster Shuttle)

Multiple problems for Londoners

7:20am Wednesday 10th December 2008 in Search

WHILE the UK is dragged further into recession, the country’s financial future is in the wrong hands, it has been claimed.

Research by Whizz.com, an online maths tutoring service, found Londoners were struggling to recite even their basic times tables.

In a poll of 1,000 people, one in 20 capital city dwellers admitted to not even being able to work out any times tables. This may not sound like a lot but when you do the maths it’s six times more than the national average.

When it comes to the battle of the sexes, men are the worst culprits, with more than twice as many males than females admitting they cannot do multiplication.

“People think of London as being the financial hub of the country and it’s frankly worrying that so many of its habitants struggle with basic sums,” said Richard Marett, chief executive of www.whizz.com.

Top of the class are people in the East of England, with 71 per cent claiming to be able to recite their times tables quickly and accurately.

“This is great news for people in places like Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire,” said Mr Marett. “But it seems people in London have got a lot of catching up to do in the numbers game.”

Whizz.com specialises in online tutoring and educational software.

Previous research by Whizz.com revealed the average adult in the UK has the same maths ability as a child aged 10-and-a-half.

“It’s no wonder Britain is in such a complicated state financially,” said Mr Marett. “People are forgetting their times tables as soon as they leave school.”

TOP OF THE CLASS

How the regions fared:

• East England

• Scotland

• South-west England

• North-east England

• Wales

• West Midlands

• East Midlands

• South-east England

• North-west England

• Yorkshire and the Humber

• London

The poll of 1,000 people was conducted by polling service PureProfile.com.