Great Britain is tapping the help of Chinese mathematics teachers in order to improve the math proficiency of British students, who ranked poorly in an international math test, the British Education Ministry announced.

At least 60 math teachers from Shanghai will be flown in to England to help raise the math standards of the country, which performed poorly in international tests.

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Based on the international PISA tables for maths, Shanghai students topped the 2012 internet math test while England ranked in 26th place.

British Education Minister Elizabeth Truss, who led the fact-finding mission in Shanghai, said England's performance in mathematics has stagnated while other countries have improved.

Truss visited Shanghai to learn the city's experience in math teaching and use it to raise the British teaching standards in mathematics.

Truss said that there are brilliant math teachers in England but realized that more can be done to improve the country's mathematics proficiency after she visited Shanghai and other Chinese cities.

"As part of our long term economic plan, we are determined to drive up standards in our schools and give our young people the skills they need to succeed in the global race," Truss said in a BBC interview.

According to a recent study, children of poor families in Shanghai are, on average, better at mathematics than middle class children in the United Kingdom.

The Shanghai teachers, who will arrive in England through an exchange arranged by the country's Department of Education, will help share their teaching methods, support British pupils who are struggling with math and help train other teachers, a report by the British Broadcasting Center said.

Once in England, the 60 math teachers from Shanghai will provide masterclasses in 30 identified math hubs in the country. The math hubs have been planned to form a network of centres of excellence for mathematics.