Amazon Peterborough encourages National Numeracy Day celebration with free maths games, events and jokes from Alexa.

National Numeracy Day is today (May 17) and celebrates the importance of numbers in everyday life, aiming to help children and adults to improve their maths skills.

Now in its sixth year, the campaign has inspired people to take more than 650,000 actions to improve their numeracy skills, including more than 16,000 downloads of the free resources available through the campaign.

The team at Amazon in Peterborough is showing support by highlighting ways people in Peterborough can boost their confidence with maths, demonstrating how numbers can change lives at home, work and school.

“At Amazon, no matter what area of our business you work in, whether it’s Alexa, Prime Video, fashion, grocery, or logistics, numeracy skills are essential," said Gareth Davies, general manager at Amazon in Peterborough

“Having a good understanding of numbers is a critical life skill and we believe everyone across the UK, regardless of age or background, should have access to the resources that will help build number confidence.

"That’s why we’re incredibly proud to be a lead supporter of National Numeracy Day again this year.”

The UK’s numeracy levels are significantly below the average for developed countries, with 49 per cent of the UK’s working-age population at the expected numeracy levels of a primary school child.

Millions of children in the UK leave school lacking number confidence, and 30% of school-leavers (18-24s) feel anxious about using maths and numbers.

Not only does poor numeracy cost the UK economy £25 billion a year, struggling with maths and numbers can make people more vulnerable to debt, unemployment, poor health and fraud – all of which have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis and now, the cost-of-living crisis.

Nurseries, schools, colleges as well as other organisations, workplaces, community groups or individuals in Peterborough can sign up to take part in National Numeracy Day.

The Big Number Natter, takes place throughout May. It’s an opportunity to have a chat online about numbers and change lives for the better.

Celebrities, experts and people across the UK will be sharing their own number stories on social media.

Get involved by sharing the story behind your lucky number, tips for bagging a bargain, making calculations in your career, or helping children with homework. 

Win big in the Number Heroes Competition

By signing up to National Numeracy Day you will also receive access to enter the Number Heroes competition.

The competition is designed for children, and aims to help them think about how they will use numbers when they grow up.

They can enter a drawing into the competition for a chance to win a fantastic prize for themselves and a prize bundle for their whole school worth more than £1,000.

Get the children around you involved and let their imaginations run wild, no matter whether they want to be a vet, train driver, dancer, teacher, engineer or footballer when they grow up, help them use their maths and numbers skills to get there.

Details on the National Numeracy Day website.