Vault Times — Maths in the news

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Our pick of the day for numbers, data and context — the rest of the edition follows by section.

National (UK) · YouGov

Voting intention, 26-27 July 2026: Ref 22%, Lab 22%, Con 21%, Grn 13%, LD 11%

Latest YouGov Westminster voting intention figures

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Classroom maths questions Tailored prompts

What is the combined percentage of Ref and Lab in the voting intention poll?

Your answer

Express the difference in percentage points between Con and Grn as a fraction of the total for all five listed parties (Ref, Lab, Con, Grn, LD).

Your answer

If the poll had 1,000 respondents, how many people said they would vote Green?

Your answer

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National (UK)

Headlines from UK-wide outlets: general news and analysis.

National (UK) · YouGov

YouGov Business VUCA Index: Q2 2026

The second edition of YouGov’s quarterly VUCA Index explores the pressures businesses face following the breakout of the war in Iran.

Classroom maths questions Tailored prompts

YouGov's VUCA index is published quarterly. How many editions are released in two years?

Your answer

If the second edition covers Q2 2026, which quarter did the first edition cover?

Your answer

Suppose the VUCA index increased from 58 in Q1 to 63 in Q2. What is the percentage increase?

Your answer

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National (UK) · YouGov

FIFA World Cup 2026: The top 5 brand sponsors based on Advertiser Impact Score (AIS)

Spain may have lifted the World Cup, but which advertisers saw the most glory during the 2026 tournament? YouGov BrandIndex data reveals all.

Classroom maths questions Tailored prompts

How many brand sponsors are listed in the top 5?

Your answer

If the top sponsor had an AIS of 82 and the fifth had an AIS of 54, what would be the range? (Note: exact scores not in snippet.)

Your answer

Spain won the World Cup. If they scored 3 goals and the runners-up scored 1, what was the goal difference? (Note: not from snippet.)

Your answer

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Statistics

Polling, surveys, trackers and data-led public opinion pieces.

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Global

International and world news.

Global · The Independent — World

Former Olympian says grand jury irregularities tainted Trump’s Reflecting Pool prosecution

A former Olympian charged with deliberately damaging the the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is seeking access to all the closed-door testimony that led to his indictment

Classroom maths questions Tailored prompts

If a grand jury has 23 members and 7 were irregularly selected, what percentage of the jury is irregular? (Assume from the snippet that such irregularities occurred.)

Your answer

If the former Olympian’s defence team wants access to all closed-door testimony from 4 witnesses, each giving 45 minutes of testimony, what is the total length of testimony in minutes?

Your answer

If the probability that a randomly chosen grand juror has a conflict of interest is 0.2, what is the probability that exactly 2 out of 5 randomly chosen jurors have conflicts?

Your answer

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Global · The Independent — World

Snow in Athens while France is on fire: The images that lay bare contrast in extreme weather across Europe

As extreme weather events continue to hit Europe, over 300,000 people have been evacuated amid growing wildfires in Spain and France

Classroom maths questions Tailored prompts

Over 300,000 people were evacuated from Spain and France due to wildfires. If 120,000 were from Spain, how many were from France?

Your answer

In Athens the temperature dropped to 2°C, while in a French wildfire region it was 38°C. What is the temperature difference?

Your answer

If the number of evacuees increased by 15% the following day, how many would that be?

Your answer

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Global · The Independent — World

Europe wildfires latest: France and Spain enter ‘crucial’ hours before new 40C heatwave begins

Macron said France was facing its most difficult situation since the Second World War

Classroom maths questions Tailored prompts

What temperature is the new heatwave predicted to reach?

Your answer

If the heatwave lasts 5 days, how many hours is that?

Your answer

Assuming 6 crucial hours, what fraction of a day is that?

Your answer

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Politics

UK and Westminster politics, policy and elections.

Politics · BBC News — Politics

Burnham appoints Phillipson as Labour Party chair

She will work closely with Lucy Powell, having lost out to her in the deputy leadership contest.

Classroom maths questions Tailored prompts

In the deputy leadership contest, if Phillipson received 42% of the vote and Powell 58%, what is the ratio of Phillipson’s votes to Powell’s in simplest form?

Your answer

If 800 members voted in the contest, how many more votes did Powell get than Phillipson?

Your answer

Express Phillipson’s vote share (42%) as a fraction in simplest form.

Your answer

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Politics · BBC News — Politics

Fit schools, hospitals and new homes with air con, say Lib Dems

The party says the country is "woefully unprepared for extreme heat", as parts of the UK prepare for another heatwave.

Classroom maths questions Tailored prompts

Installing air conditioning in one school costs £15,000. If there are 24,000 schools in the UK, what is the total cost to equip all of them?

Your answer

If the government budget for air conditioning in hospitals is £500 million and each hospital installation costs £25,000, how many hospitals can be equipped?

Your answer

A school's temperature during a heatwave is 32°C. After installing air conditioning the temperature drops by 8°C. What is the new temperature?

Your answer

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Politics · BBC News — Politics

Ex political advisor admits fraud over expense claims

Matthew Torbitt was working for Bury South MP Christian Wakeford at th etime of the offences.

Classroom maths questions Tailored prompts

Who admitted fraud over expense claims?

Your answer

If the fraudulent total was £10,000 over 5 claims, what was the average per claim? (Not in snippet.)

Your answer

If the offences spanned 6 months, what fraction of a year is that? (Not in snippet.)

Your answer

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Environment & science

Climate, nature, energy and science stories.

Environment & science · The Guardian — Environment

The Guardian view on Europe’s wildfires: politics must catch up with the new reality | Editorial

At a time when the quickening pace of global heating has never been clearer, climate policies are being deprioritisedA new and ominous word has entered the vocabulary of firefighters struggling to cope with the vast wildfire sweeping through south-west France. A pyrocumulonimbus is a fire-generated thunderstorm that…

Classroom maths questions Tailored prompts

If a wildfire burns 5 km² per day, how much area does it burn in 2 weeks?

Your answer

If global heating increased wildfire frequency by 8% this year compared to last, and last year there were 250 wildfires, how many wildfires are there this year?

Your answer

A pyrocumulonimbus cloud rises at 1 km per minute. How high is it after 15 minutes?

Your answer

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Environment & science · BBC — Science & environment

On the frontline fighting the UK's 'most dangerous plant'

A County Tyrone group says it has made progress tackling Giant Hogweed.

Classroom maths questions Tailored prompts

Giant Hogweed can grow up to 3 metres tall. If a plant is cut down to 1.5 metres, what fraction of its height remains?

Your answer

A group treated 45 plants in one week, and this represents 15% of the total number of plants in the area. How many plants are there in total?

Your answer

Each Giant Hogweed plant produces 20,000 seeds. How many seeds are produced by 12 plants?

Your answer

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Environment & science · BBC — Science & environment

Gates smashed and crops destroyed as farmers threatened by gangs hunting hares

Some barricade the entrances to their fields with concrete blocks and fallen trees.

Classroom maths questions Tailored prompts

What two materials are farmers using to barricade entrances?

Your answer

If each barricade uses 20 concrete blocks and there are 3 barricades, how many blocks are used? (Not in snippet.)

Your answer

If 5 gates are smashed at £200 repair each, what is the total cost? (Not in snippet.)

Your answer

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Sport

Sport news (including football).

Sport · BBC Sport

Why is Hamilton getting so many penalties? - F1 Q&A

BBC Sport F1 correspondent Andrew Benson answers your latest questions after the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Classroom maths questions Tailored prompts

Hamilton received 3 penalties in 5 races. What is the mean number of penalties per race?

Your answer

If each penalty adds 10 seconds to Hamilton’s total race time, and he gets 4 penalties in a season, how many extra seconds does he accumulate?

Your answer

Hamilton had 2 penalties last season and 5 this season. What is the percentage increase?

Your answer

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Sport · BBC Sport

Norrie wins first match since April

British number two Cameron Norrie ends a six-match losing streak with a straight-set win over Aleksandar Kovacevic.

Classroom maths questions Tailored prompts

Cameron Norrie won a straight-set match with scores 6‑4 and 7‑5. How many games did he win in total?

Your answer

Before this win, Norrie had lost six consecutive matches. After winning, how many matches had he played in total since the losing streak began?

Your answer

If Norrie’s ranking points before the match were 800 and he gained 45 points for the win, what is his new total?

Your answer

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Sport · BBC Sport

Who am I? Guess Premier League star No 8

Will you get today's player in as few attempts as possible?

Classroom maths questions Tailored prompts

What is the number of the Premier League star in this guessing series?

Your answer

Which league does the star play in?

Your answer

If a player scores 10 goals in 20 matches, what is his goals per match ratio? (Not from snippet.)

Your answer

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Local & regional

City and regional papers across the UK.

Local & regional · Birmingham Mail

Andy Burnham refuses to rule out 10% tax charge for 650,000 families

The Makerfield MP has failed to rule out funding social care with a 10 per cent “death tax”.

Classroom maths questions Tailored prompts

10% of 650,000 families is how many families?

Your answer

If each affected family’s average estate is £180,000 and the tax is 10% of the estate, how much tax does one family pay?

Your answer

Write 650,000 in standard form.

Your answer

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Local & regional · Manchester Evening News

Lorraine Kelly makes surprise appearance during ITV absence as show taken off air

Lorraine Kelly has been seen taking on a new role, weeks after she was seen signing off from her ITV show for months

Classroom maths questions Tailored prompts

Lorraine Kelly was off air for 3 months. How many weeks is that (assuming 4 weeks per month)?

Your answer

Her show normally runs for 2 hours. She appeared for only 15 minutes in a surprise segment. What fraction of the show did she appear on?

Your answer

If she signed off in April and returned in July, how many months later did she return?

Your answer

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Local & regional · WalesOnline

Families cutting back on holidays this year because of cost of living

It now takes six months to save for a holiday

Classroom maths questions Tailored prompts

How many months does the summary say it takes to save for a holiday?

Your answer

If a family saves £200 per month, how much will they have after 6 months?

Your answer

What fraction of a year is 6 months?

Your answer

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