One Direction were in the news yesterday for postponing a concert, but the Mathemateer is more interested in the group’s Maths song.  Yes there is one, and it’s good !
As described below – can you do the mental Maths? !  Hear it here. 

One Direction were in the news earlier as they are rumoured to be taking a break in 2016. Recalling the excellent parody of their own song “What Makes You Beautiful” on Radio 1, the band wrote and recorded “Maths Song” whose main chorus is “Your Maths Skills = Terrible”

It features a series of quick, simple, mental maths tasks whose eventual answer is 130.  At GCSE level this would not constitute a genuine question but on the other hand the lost art of mental maths should not be underestimated. As a warm up exercise before a test you could do worse than follow this through.  Well done 1D as I think I should call them!