PA
Primary school kids are to be banned from using calculators in class in an attempt to improve their maths skills, schools' minister Nick Gibb has announced.
Mr Gibb said: "They shouldn't be reaching for a gadget every time they need to do a simple sum. Children can become too dependent on calculators."
He went on to say that calculators were partly to blame for one in five primary kids failing to reach the expected level in maths this year, saying: "Without a solid grounding in arithmetic and early maths in primary school, children go on to struggle with basic maths skills throughout their school careers.
"It also means they leave school without the knowledge to complete everyday tasks in their adult lives."
The new rules will mean that maths exams will no longer have a section on calculator use.
Research revealed that 17 million adults have maths skills no better than children as young as nine, an increase of two million on a similar survey eight years ago.
Do you agree that calculators should be banned in the classroom?