Coronavirus: Carol Vorderman offering free maths lessons to children while schools are closed

‘These are extraordinary times we’re living in,’ says former Countdown host

Carol Vorderman is offering free maths lessons to children aged between four and 11 while schools are closed.

Following a recent government announcement, schools across the UK were closed until further notice and scheduled exams were cancelled.

While children of key workers and the most vulnerable pupils may still attend school, all other children must now remain home in keeping with the nationwide lockdown.

Parents and carers of children who have never taught before are currently facing the prospect of homeschooling their children while in self-isolation.

To lend them a helping hand, former Countdown host and maths expert Vorderman is offering free maths lessons to primary school-aged children.

On Monday 23 March, the media personality shared a tweet explaining that while her maths school at themathsfactor.com usually costs around £2 per week for participants, it is now free to use for children between the ages of four and 11 “until schools open”.

“We’re uploading massive server capabilities, pls bear with us [sic],” Vorderman added. “With all my love.”

Since making her announcement, Vorderman has responded to numerous Twitter users praising her for offering the maths resource for free and asking her questions about it.

“We are inundated with new parents signing on... please bear with us, these are extraordinary times we’re living in,” the 59-year-old said in another tweet.

“We will get everybody onto the site over the coming days. With much love from ‘Aunty Carol’.”

When you visit themathsfactor.com, there is a button allowing users to join for free.

At the moment, when one clicks on the button it says that the site is experiencing some “technical difficulties” due to the large number of requests being made to join.

“We are working hard to return the service to normal to ensure an optimum experience for our learners,” it states.

“We, therefore, advise you to return to the site tomorrow to sign-up. We appreciate your understanding and support during these challenging times.”

Thousands of children recently joined fitness instructor Joe Wicks for a live PE lesson streamed on YouTube.

Children from across the world joined the 30-minute session, which was aimed at everyone from toddlers to secondary school pupils.

More than 790,000 households tune in to the live session, which was held on Wicks’ YouTube channel, The Body Coach TV.

The published video currently has more than three million views.