National Numeracy Day celebrates and champions improving everyday maths. It brings together individuals, schools, and organisations across the country to help people of all ages feel more confident with numbers at work, home and in the classroom.
This year the campaign, created by the charity National Numeracy, focused on the importance of community. An estimated 83,683 children from 3,194 classes got to see that theme in action through what is thought to be the biggest ever game of ‘Would You Rather?’ hosted by Times Tables Rock Stars and Rotimi Merriman-Johnson, aka Mr MoneyJar.
Children across the country learned all about the way numbers feature in their communities when it comes to savvy spending, with questions covering topics like budgeting, pocket money and buying second-hand.
Jen Pierce, Community Partnerships Manager at Maths Circle, creators of Times Tables Rock Stars, said: “We’re incredibly proud to partner with National Numeracy again this year, inspiring students to build confidence and curiosity through real-world maths. We were thrilled to kick off the day with our live nationwide lesson alongside National Numeracy Ambassador Rotimi Merriman-Johnson, aka Mr MoneyJar, bringing together our incredible school community and classrooms across the country. More than 80,000 students from 3,000 classes joined interactive live voting games that brought maths, money and financial decision-making to life.”
Sam Sims, National Numeracy Chief Executive, said: “It’s fantastic to see so many schools and students take part in the live lesson for National Numeracy Day. From our work as a charity we know that millions of people feel anxiety around numbers, which often stems from childhood experiences and can create a lifelong barrier to social mobility. So, it’s crucial we help build positive experiences and mindsets from as early an age as possible. Thank you to Times Tables Rock Stars and Rotimi for kickstarting number confidence with our youngest and future community members.”
Notes to editors
For media queries, please contact: comms@nationalnumeracy.org.uk
About National Numeracy: National Numeracy is a charity dedicated to helping people feel confident with numbers and using everyday maths. We empower people to thrive by using numeracy to open up opportunities and access brighter futures, targeting communities where the need is greatest. National Numeracy is a registered company (company no: 7886294) and charity (charity no: 1145669). Visit: www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk
About National Numeracy Day: National Numeracy Day on 20 May 2026 is the UK’s only day dedicated to everyday maths. It aims to inspire everyone to have the confidence and skills to work with, and understand numbers, so they can get on in life. One simple step is to try the National Numeracy Challenge. The campaign is run by the UK charity National Numeracy with the campaign’s founding supporter KPMG and supported by an ever-growing list of organisations that believe in improving the nation’s numeracy.
About Maths Circle: Maths Circle is an education technology supplier that supports over 18,000 schools worldwide with their award-winning online maths learning platforms, Times Tables Rock Stars and NumBots; both designed to improve numeracy skills and student confidence in mathematics in a fun and engaging way. Find out more at www.mathscircle.com
