Bolton College students and Modern English – a social media and digital agency – have been named the winners of a national competition to create a maths app to enhance adult numeracy skills.

The competition was run in partnership by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) and Maths4Us – a national initiative to help boost adult maths skills across England.

The Maths Everywhere app, chosen by a public vote, will be available to download on PCs, tablets and other mobile devices, and will help adults boost their numeracy skills by explaining everyday concepts – such as fuel costs to drive certain distances – through a series of tools and learning activities.

Modern English – who've developed digital and Facebook campaigns for clients including Kylie Minogue, Pink Floyd and Cypress Hill – will be working closely with Bolton College to produce the app.

Paul McKean, information and learning technology development manager at Bolton College, said: "Students and staff at Bolton College are really excited to be able to turn the ‘Maths Everywhere’ app from a design concept into a reality – we’d like to thank everyone who voted.

"The app will help people to solve simple everyday maths calculations, in a fun and engaging way. We hope that our app will inspire users and help to increase their confidence. Ultimately, we’d like to encourage more people to go on to study maths at a higher level."

Pat Harrison, Director of 14 to 19-year-olds at Bolton College, said: "The opportunity to continue to study maths and English is seen as a priority for all our students on study programmes here at Bolton College. We are committed to ensuring that every learner who has yet to attain a GCSE in maths and English has the opportunity to work towards this whilst they are at the College.

"This app will be a fantastic boost to our campaign to bring the fun back into maths. It will also emphasise just how important these skills are to young people and adults when preparing to enter the world of work."

Bruce Thomas, Director of Modern English, said: "We are absolutely honoured to be chosen by the public as the developers for this very exciting project. Many adults struggle with maths and the idea of developing compelling and useful technology to help adults feel more confident with their maths skills is something that the team here at Modern English are extremely excited about. With added educational support from Bolton College, we aim to deliver a seriously innovative and exciting bit of educational software."

Susan Easton, Digital Programme Manager at NIACE, said: "Maths skills are used every day and many individuals need a boost with their numeracy skills. The public has given great support to this competition – with over 4,200 votes for the four fantastic app entries.

“We are delighted to be working with Modern English and Bolton College, who have a wealth of experience developing apps and teaching maths between them. Like maths, technology is used every day by millions of people, so combining the two makes sense."