More than 50pc of youngsters struggle to master everyday skills

A new study has found that simple sums, such as working out the correct change, are beyond many teen, and more than half of young people are struggling to master everyday skills.

Nationwide Building Society, which conducted the research, asked 13 and 14-year-olds to calculate what they were owed if they paid 100 pounds for goods worth 64.23 pounds.

It was found that all 2000 gave an answer, but only 48 percent got it right and 26 percent were more than 1 pound adrift, the Daily Express reported.

In another test, the respondents were asked to select the best value supermarket multi-buy, but 59 percent failed the challenge.

The study, which aimed to improve the number skills of 200,000 young people over four years, found that a quarter of those polled admitted they would prefer to stop studying maths altogether if they were allowed, with many saying either they "couldn't do it" or "found it boring".