News
Celebrities to help people get number confident this National Numeracy Day
30 Apr 2024
National Numeracy is excited to announce celebrity support for this year’s National Numeracy Day on Wednesday 22 May.
With fun, free and engaging activities and resources, there’ll be plenty to help both children and adults get started on their numeracy improvement journeys as we celebrate the campaign’s seventh occasion.
Rapping, baking, dancing and some fantastic live events are just some of the ways our celebrity supporters will be building up the number fun this May.
Bobby Seagull
TV presenter and maths teacher Bobby Seagull is once again the head judge for the Number Heroes competition. Children aged three to 13 can enter and there are £6,000 worth of prizes up for grabs! All entrants need to do is create a picture of their dream job or hobby and show how it uses numbers.
Bobby will also be taking part in National Numeracy Day Live. Last year saw Bobby host his very own Number Fun Quiz, and this year’s event will be space-themed and see Bobby, along with fellow National Numeracy ambassadors Katya Jones and Jessica Gagen, host an engaging talk and Q&A aimed at primary school children, supported by CBeebies stars Numberblocks.
Bobby will be facilitating an exciting event for secondary school pupils, entitled Numbers in Space: Past and Future, in which Jessica Gagen will be joined by Dr Sheila Kanani MBE of the Royal Astronomical Society for a fascinating astronomical talk.
Nottingham primary school pupils will be treated to a very special assembly, hosted by Bobby, talking about his ‘Maths Story’, alongside volunteers from Capital One, and he will also be encouraging members of the community to take part in the Big Number Natter by chatting about numeracy.
Bobby has also taken part in a Big Number Natter with Jessica and Katya all about the gender confidence gap when it comes to numeracy.
Harry Baker
Poet and mathematician Harry Baker has produced a brand-new rap and poetry activity along with Times Tables Rock Stars, NumBots, and schoolchildren from Wigan, who showed how rap and poetry involve numbers more than you may think!
The activity sheet and video are sure to see children use creativity to engage with numbers in a super fun way.
Iona Bain
Author, financial journalist and founder of the Young(Ish) Money blog, Iona Bain will be helping adults to improve their everyday numeracy.
Iona will be taking part in a Big Number Natter with singer/songwriter and Dyscalculia Network supporter Mia Borthwick, where they will talk about their experiences of dyscalculia.
She will also be enjoying an exciting number-themed chat with mathematician Tom Crawford, AKA Tom Rocks Maths.
Jessica Gagen
National Numeracy’s newest ambassador, Jessica Gagen, is an aerospace engineering graduate, internationally signed fashion model and Miss UK as well as Miss World Europe.
Her first National Numeracy Day will see her join fellow ambassadors Bobby Seagull and Katya Jones for National Numeracy Day Live alongside CBeebies’ Numberblocks – as an aerospace engineering graduate, who better to join in the space-themed fun?
Jessica and Bobby will also be joining Dr Sheila Kanani MBE of the Royal Astronomical Society, for the Numbers In Space: Past and Future 'lesson starter' event for secondary school-age children. The short video offers a fascinating insight into the link between numbers and the wonders of space.
Jessica also joins Bobby and Katya for the Big Number Natter about the gender confidence gap and what can be done about it.
Katya Jones
Strictly Come Dancing professional Katya Jones has put together a brand-new dance activity for children, showing how dancing uses numbers. Kids can have fun joining in with the routine while engaging with numeracy at the same time.
Katya will also be joining fellow ambassadors Bobby Seagull and Jessica Gagen for the space-themed National Numeracy Day Live event, with CBeebies’ Numberblocks joining in the fun.
Katya also joins Bobby and Jessica for their Big Number Natter about the gender confidence gap when it comes to numeracy.
Peter Sawkins
Following the success of his incredible rocky road recipe, Great British Bake Off 2020 winner Peter Sawkins has created another delicious bake for National Numeracy Day.
This year, Peter’s recipe is for scones and there’ll be a recipe sheet, showing how to create the tasty treat using ingredients, baking equipment, and numbers of course!
Peter will also be filming a Big Number Natter in Edinburgh, with Emma, owner of local small business, Moo Pie Gelato, an ice cream shop. Together, Peter and Emma will talk about the importance of everyday numeracy and numeracy at work.
Timi Merriman-Johnson
Finance expert, podcaster and founder of Mr MoneyJar, Timi Merriman-Johnson will be taking part in the Big Number Natter by hosting a special live event aimed at helping adults to manage their money.
Timi has also created a new resource sheet and video around the theme of Flying The Nest, aimed at helping those who may be leaving home for the first time and needing to know more about dealing with their finances.
Sign up now to be first to get these activities!
Whether you’re signing up as an individual or as part of a school or organisation, there are loads of fun and free activities, resources and materials to use and share, so you can boost your own numeracy skills and inspire others to do the same!
Sign up for National Numeracy Day to help your school, organisation or community get number confident and join thousands of others who are helping the nation get on with numbers. Ahead of 22 May, you’ll receive a free digital toolkit with assets and guides to put on a fantastic National Numeracy Day in communities or classrooms.
National Numeracy Day is brought to you by independent charity National Numeracy, Founding Supporter KPMG, and a group of pioneering Lead Supporter organisations who are dedicated to improving the nation’s numeracy confidence and skills.
Follow us on X , Facebook , LinkedIn , Tiktok and Instagram for all the National Numeracy Day news as it happens!
