Inter-disciplinary thought and research is increasingly valuable, and often depends on mathematics.
UK high school standards are low and declining, especially in math and stats.
The high variation in school performance even in the same socio-economic group suggests that the problem is teaching quality (and low standards), not money.
There ought to be action to get rid of bad teachers and bad school managers.
There ought to be research to find out what the highest realistic standards can be (eg what fraction of students are inherently capable of learning integrals).
TL;DR:
Inter-disciplinary thought and research is increasingly valuable, and often depends on mathematics.
UK high school standards are low and declining, especially in math and stats.
The high variation in school performance even in the same socio-economic group suggests that the problem is teaching quality (and low standards), not money.
There ought to be action to get rid of bad teachers and bad school managers.
There ought to be research to find out what the highest realistic standards can be (eg what fraction of students are inherently capable of learning integrals).