{"id":764246,"date":"2026-09-08T19:20:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T19:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/764246\/"},"modified":"2026-09-08T19:20:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T19:20:10","slug":"englands-teenagers-outperform-peers-in-most-countries-in-maths-reading-and-science-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/764246\/","title":{"rendered":"England\u2019s teenagers outperform peers in most countries in maths, reading and science | Education"},"content":{"rendered":"

England\u2019s teenagers are outperforming their peers in most countries in maths, reading and science, according to an international survey that warns of \u201cdigital distractions\u201d eroding academic skills around the world.<\/p>\n

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development\u2019s (OECD) programme for international student assessment (Pisa), which last year tested 760,000 15-year-olds in 91 countries and regions, found that results dipped in almost all of its members compared with previous years, with the exception of England and a handful of others.<\/p>\n

England\u2019s steady performance helped move the UK into the top 10 international rankings as other countries dropped out, with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland recording results slightly lower than in previous years.<\/p>\n

While England\u2019s biggest improvement came in science, it was its performance in reading that stood out, putting it ahead of Australia, the US, Finland and France, and with only the scholastic powerhouses of Singapore, Taiwan and the combined Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions in China performing significantly better.<\/p>\n

Prof Mary Richardson of University College London, the lead author of the Pisa reports for Wales and Northern Ireland, said: \u201cDespite the international trend of declining performance in reading, we found 15-year-olds in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to be reading just as well as they were in 2022.<\/p>\n

On average, scores decline globally, but not in UK<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIn science and maths, we also saw good performances, particularly for pupils in England and Northern Ireland, where scores were above the international average.\u201d<\/p>\n

Georgia Gould, the schools minister for England, said the OECD\u2019s survey data highlighted gaps in England\u2019s schools system, with pupils reporting low levels of belonging or belief in the value of education.<\/p>\n

Gould said: \u201cWhile we are doing well comparatively to other countries, we are also plateauing. Some of the biggest gaps are for disadvantaged pupils, and high standards have to be high standards for all pupils. How we drive that forward is a focus.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking at some of the detailed work, it\u2019s important to get our best teachers in front of our most disadvantaged pupils, to ensure they are making those leaps in progress that open up opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laura Trott, the shadow education secretary for England, said it was \u201cbonkers\u201d for the government to move away from the academic emphasis that was proving to be so successful in England\u2019s schools.<\/p>\n

Trott said: \u201cFocusing on academic outcomes increases opportunity. It beggars belief that Labour wants to reduce standards. In doing so, the most disadvantaged will be worst hit as they will lose out on the most opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

UK bucks the trend of declining Pisa scores<\/a><\/p>\n

The OECD\u2019s overall analysis was gloomy, saying: \u201cLearning outcomes have stagnated or declined in many countries, in some cases for well over a decade.\u201d<\/p>\n

It highlighted the international decline in reading scores as \u201cmost concerning\u201d, with average scores falling by double digits across OECD members since 2018. The organisation said the results implied that a majority of 15-year-olds in 2025 had performed at a level previously expected of 14-year-olds.<\/p>\n

The OECD\u2019s analysts stated: \u201cThe long-term declines in performance suggest deeper structural issues within education systems, with challenges at the school and system level. These include changing attitudes towards reading, the impact of digital distractions on students and rising levels of absenteeism.<\/p>\n

\u201cOverall, the data suggest weaknesses in how education systems are adapting to social, technological and economic change.\u201d<\/p>\n

The OECD said the shift towards digital reading may have contributed to the international decline in reading scores. Photograph: Yuliya Taba\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Andreas Schleicher, the OECD\u2019s director for education and skills, said while the negative impact of the Covid pandemic was a common explanation, the downturn in reading skills had emerged before the pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot say for sure but declining levels of reading for enjoyment and the shift towards digital reading \u2013 skimming social media feeds and rapidly processing information \u2013 may be compromising the ability of students to engage with complex texts and data,\u201d Schleicher said.<\/p>\n

He noted that while some uses of digital devices for learning were beneficial, those countries where devices were allowed for leisure at school saw \u201csubstantially lower\u201d student performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis raises questions about whether devices such as smartphones \u2013 designed to maximise a user\u2019s attention \u2013 are compatible with sustained academic attention,\u201d Schleicher said.<\/p>\n

A report on Scotland\u2019s performance, produced for the Scottish government, said the 2025 result \u201cpresents a mixed but more positive picture\u201d, with performances in science, mathematics and reading little changed since 2022.<\/p>\n

But the report concluded: \u201cScores remain significantly below those achieved in several previous cycles, and a substantial proportion of pupils, particularly in mathematics, did not reach the OECD baseline proficiency level.\u201d<\/p>\n

M\u00e0iri McAllan, the education secretary for Scotland, said: \u201cWhile recognising the positives, these results also underline the need for change in certain areas.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"England\u2019s teenagers are outperforming their peers in most countries in maths, reading and science, according to an international…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":764247,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-764246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/764246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=764246"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/764246\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/764247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=764246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=764246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=764246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}