Thousands of girls in the UK will be eligible for financial support to improve their participation in studying maths in an aim to better prepare them for an AI future, the UK government has announced.

7,500 girls will be eligible for part of the £8.2m of funding announced to improve the participation and teaching of advanced maths.

The funding, part of the refreshed Advanced Maths Support Programme, will target support to thousands of pupils from 400 disadvantaged secondary schools – breaking the link between background and success so all young people have the chance to progress in careers of the future.

Currently, only a third of A level maths pupils are girls, while currently only 22% of professionals working in AI related roles like software engineer or data science are women.

“Today’s brightest maths minds are tomorrow’s AI pioneers, and this government is opening the door for groups who have so far been left behind in the AI revolution,” education secretary Bridget Phillipson said.

“Through our Plan for Change we are breaking down barriers to opportunity, backing our young people and going further and faster for AI growth, ensuring the next generation can progress in the exciting careers of the future.”

The updated Advanced Maths Support Programme includes pilot teacher training and student enrichment courses on the key maths concepts and skills needed for AI, with the government saying this will benefit 540 students and 360 teachers from September.

“AI is the defining technology of our generation, improving our public services, sparking fresh economic growth, and unlocking the jobs of the future. We can only harness that potential if we have a pipeline of talent equipped with the skills they need for the jobs of tomorrow,” science secretary Peter Kyle said.

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“This package of support will help us deliver our Plan for Change and do exactly that. This is the first step in our plan to give every young person in the country the opportunity to develop the tools which will put them front and centre in delivering our AI-powered future.”

The investment in maths education comes at a time when Scotland is struggling to find enough computing science teachers to educate its children as the number of teachers crashed in recent years.

Computing science education is in a crisis in Scotland, reports show, putting children at risk of falling behind in digital skills compared to other nations.