Even some maths students had trouble with numbers

The Times Higher Education Supplement spoke to 10,000 teenagers in England and Wales, of whom 57.5% said they did not have numerical skills.

Even 19% of those studying maths reported the problem.

However, seven out of 10 of those interviewed said they expected to attend university, while 2% wanted to train for work with companies.

Writing

Half the teenagers who studied science said they lacked number skills, and 70% of those taking English.

Meanwhile, only 37% of science students and 31% of maths students said they had good writing skills.

Just over two-thirds of boys were confident of their computing skills, compared with 46.4% of girls.

The government says in England it will introduce a "general" diploma at GCSE level, which would mark the achievement of those attaining five or more A* to C grades including maths and English.

At present, any subjects count towards official figures.

Under the diploma plan, maths and English passes will have to include tests of youngsters' "functional" abilities.