Building strong foundational maths skills in high school is incredibly important because these basics act like the building blocks for everything students will learn later. Without a solid base, more advanced topics can feel confusing, overwhelming, and frustrating. But when students really understand the core ideas, harder concepts make much more sense, and they become far more confident learners.
Foundational skills include things like working comfortably with fractions, decimals, percentages, basic algebra, equations, and understanding how numbers behave. These may seem simple, but they show up everywhere in high school maths—often in hidden ways. For example, solving quadratic equations requires confidence with algebra. Understanding rates of change in calculus depends on a strong sense of functions and graphs. Even statistics relies on clear thinking about ratios, proportions, and averages.
When students master these basics early, they can focus on the actual ideas behind advanced maths instead of feeling lost in the steps. It’s a bit like learning to walk before trying to run. If you skip ahead too soon, you spend more time trying not to fall than actually moving forward.
Having strong foundational skills also boosts problem-solving abilities. Students learn to break problems down, recognise patterns, and choose the right tools to solve them. These skills don’t just help in maths class—they’re valuable for science, technology, finance, and everyday decisions.
Most importantly, confidence grows when the basics feel easy. Students are much more willing to tackle challenges when they trust their own understanding. This can turn maths from something stressful into something genuinely enjoyable.
In short, investing time in foundational maths skills gives high school students the best chance to succeed. It creates a strong base for future learning, reduces frustration, and builds the confidence needed to take on more complex ideas with success.

Jemima Smith