12 man political team fails to beat journos!

I’m sure my former colleagues at the Liverpool Echo won’t mind me reproducing this headline from their report of the annual Politicians v Journalists football match on the eve of the party conference – even with 12 players, the politicians failed to get a result!

Labour party conference in Liverpool

Testing times

The rather worrying story that a quarter of 11-year-olds in England have failed to reach the expected standard in English and maths has been widely reported (Guardian here, for example) [link opens new window].

But when it comes to reporting the story, it is embarrassing to note that a common maths error has crept in, concerning the difference between a percentage increase and an increase in percentage points. My example is from the Liverpool Echo [new window] but as it’s agency copy, I’ve no doubt the story and its error are pretty widespread (although The Guardian’s report by Jessica Shepherd [new window] avoids the trap).