Crowded classes add up to failure, says maths pioneer

The head of an internationally renowned centre for teaching maths has warned that standards in the subject in Britain are suffering because of overcrowded classes.

Hiroshi Kumon, chairman of the Japanese Kumon Institute of Education, which teaches 40,000 children in 500 out-of-hours clubs in the UK, said teachers could not deliver effective maths education in classes of 30 pupils.

He said: "If you see 30 students in one class, you have to deal with 30 capabilities. You have to focus on the 15 students in the middle. Many students will be bored by what they are expected to do and other students still won't be able to catch up."

New laws prohibit classes of more than 30 pupils aged five, six and seven, and there is growing concern over maths teaching. Estelle Morris, the Secretary of State for Education, has ordered an investigation into maths teaching in secondary schools, and Thursday's A-level results are expected to show a drop in the number of those taking the subject, largely as a result of a shortage of teachers. Ministers are also awaiting the results of this year's national curriculum tests for 11-year-olds, having set themselves the target of getting 75 per cent to reach the required standard in maths by 2002. Last year the number dropped 1 per cent to 72 per cent.

In the Kumon programme, pupils are taught through the traditional method of learning times tables. Each child is assessed and given a task thought to be within their capability and repeats the exercise until they are successful. Then they move to more difficult tests.

British teachers are divided about its effectiveness. Some do not believe it provides anything they cannot provide in their own schools. But there are many anecdotal accounts of pupils' maths standards and their interest in the subject improving after Kumon classes.

The method, used in 42 countries and studied by three million students, was devised by Mr Kumon's father, Toru, a high-school maths teacher for 20 years, to help his eldest son, Takeshi, after a poor exam result. Hiroshi Kumon was the second student to study under the method.

It was introduced to the UK a decade ago but has soared in popularity in the past few years, it was used by 30,000 students in 2000 and 40,000 this year. The Government's drive to improve numeracy is credited with giving parents a growing realisation of the importance of maths, leading them to seek extra tuition. The centres take children from the age of five to 18.

Mr Kumon said: When I was 13, I had reached the level I should have done at the end of high school. The method gave me strong confidence in the subject. Children can learn by themselves under Kumon with self-study. The important thing is getting to a situation where you can master what you are doing before you move on. We start by teaching the basic maths skill of calculation."

In Japan, the institute has already held talks with legislators to introduce the Kumon methods into the state school curriculum. "Maybe that is the next step," Mr Kumon said.

* Headteachers gave their backing for the first time yesterday to a controversial proposal to pay higher salaries to maths and science teachers. David Hart, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: "If it is necessary to offer more incentives to encourage people to come into teaching maths and science, we have to bite the bullet. The law of the jungle or the marketplace will have to apply."