The Royal Statistical Society and the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries have published a report, written by Roger Porkess [1], which draws urgent attention to the issue of statistical education: is it fit for purpose? Statistics is an ever-present part of real life, and there can be no doubt that for most pupils it is statistics that will be the most directly used part of their mathematical education.

The report follows an investigation into the perceived statistical needs of various subject ‘communities’, and is a follow-up to The future of statistics in our schools and colleges [2] by the same author and publishers. It is aimed at a wide readership, from policy-makers through curriculum providers and teachers (fairly low in the pecking order!) to authors and other providers of resources. There is no doubt that all such interested parties should be considering the issues covered by this study, and it should be read widely. The title of the report implies suggestions for cross-curricular work, but it is more essentially a plea to rethink the role of statistical education – a plea articulated more fully in [2]. It is the purpose of this article to further the debate.