Carol Vorderman joins Nick Gibb to sum up what Britain needs

Ms Vorderman will spend six months visiting schools and taking evidence from maths experts to help the Conservatives devise a strategy into improving pupils' knowledge.

Mr Gibb, the MP for Bognor and Littlehampton, is the Tories' shadow minister for children, schools and families.

He said: "I am confident that Carol Vorderman's inquiry will produce the evidence that will enable key reforms to be made in the curriculum and the way maths is taught in both primary and secondary schools.

"Maths is key to the sciences, to economics, to engineering and to design '“ all issues that are vital to the economic prosperity of our country.

"As the emerging economies of China and India produce ever more highly qualified maths graduates, we need to ensure that our education system is providing the best possible grounding in maths to our young people."

Conservative leader David Cameron and Ms Vorderman, famous for the Countdown show, launched the inquiry at the House of Commons on Monday.

It has been prompted by the concern that some 3.5m pupils left school between 1998 and 2008 without at least a C in GCSE maths.

Four out of ten 11-year-olds leave primary school without mastering the basics in reading, writing and maths combined.

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