MULTIPLICATION TABLES

That this House welcomes the recent recognition that children knowing multiplication tables is a vital component of their education; regrets the longstanding opposition to rote learning of tables by the educational establishment which has been a significant factor in the poor mathematical achievement of millions of the UK's children over several decades; understands that knowing multiplication tables is not a sufficient condition for developing mathematical skills but that it is a necessary one; and believes that simply testing multiplication skills at a late stage in primary education is not of itself enough to raise children's levels of achievement in mathematics and that rote learning of tables up to times 12 at an early age is essential if future generations of Britain's children are to match the mathematical skills found in advancing eastern nations.