What's seven times nine? Quick, you've got six seconds to answer. This June, over 600,000 children in England in year four, aged eight and nine, will be expected to answer questions like this. They ...

I never learned my multiplication tables. Not really. To this day, if you ask me, “What is six times nine?” out of the blue, with some urgency, I will panic. (Please don’t do this.) Carrie ...