England in PISA top 10 as Wales falls further behind
New PISA results show England's 15-year-olds among the world's top performers in reading, maths and science, while Wales falls further behind and global reading standards decline.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
New PISA results put England's 15-year-olds among the world's strongest performers in reading, maths and science, while Wales has fallen further behind the other UK nations.
The Programme for International Student Assessment, run every three years, tested more than 700,000 15-year-olds in 91 countries. Singapore and China took the top spots in the main subjects. England was in the global top 10 across reading, maths and science, a contrast with the last round in 2022, when the UK missed the top 10 in all three. In reading, England ranked ninth, the UK as a whole was 11th, and Singapore and China were first and second. The UK outperformed the United States and all European nations apart from Ireland and Estonia. In science, China and Singapore again led, with the UK ninth. In maths, China and Singapore led and the UK was 11th, beating most developed countries.
Within the UK, England was first among the home nations. Northern Ireland was just ahead of Scotland, with Wales fourth. The gap between England and Wales was stark. Wales was below the average of all 91 countries in maths, science and reading. Welsh teenagers were about a year and a half behind English pupils in all three subjects. In reading, England was ninth while Wales was 31st. England's most disadvantaged quarter of pupils scored higher than the average Welsh pupil in reading, and performed around the same as the Welsh average in science and maths.
The results have intensified scrutiny of Wales' education policies. Since devolution, Wales has scrapped SATs and school league tables and introduced a play-based curriculum for younger children. England has moved in the opposite direction, with a strong push on phonics. The new Welsh education minister rejected the suggestion that these decisions were a mistake, but said Wales could learn from England, particularly on phonics. She said literacy and numeracy would be national priorities and promised a plan next week, including a better national understanding of learners' baseline. Opposition parties said a generation of young people in Wales was being failed. The Welsh government has set targets within four years to reduce the number of children leaving school without basic skills.
There was also a global warning. PISA organisers said international reading standards had declined sharply over the past decade. They blamed digital distractions and changing attitudes to reading. The majority of 15-year-olds now have the reading age of a 14-year-old, according to the researchers. Andreas Schleicher, who leads PISA, described reading as the mother of all skills and said students had lost about two school years in their ability to read complex texts. He said reading skills were declining in areas needed today, such as navigating ambiguity and weighing different sources of evidence. Schools have responded by banning phones and encouraging longer reading. One secondary school said its phone ban had improved focus and attention. Another reading programme uses films and graphic novels to hook teenagers. Parents were advised to get children to read often, read out loud and read longer books of at least 100 pages.
The findings also fed into a political debate in England about curriculum and disadvantage. The Education Secretary said the results showed strengths in the English system, including phonics, but added that deep-rooted inequalities remained. She said the gap between poorer and more affluent pupils was entrenched and that closing it would make scores even stronger. The results come as the government examines class and social mobility, with a new unit focused on white working-class pupils.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC One | Channel 4 | GB News | ITV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welsh pupils are falling further behind in maths and remain behind the rest of the UK in reading and science. | ||||
| UK students performed well in international Pisa tests for science, reading and maths. | · | |||
| Global reading standards declined according to Pisa tests. | · | · | ||
| The UK ranked above the US and all European countries except Ireland and Estonia in reading. | · | · | ||
| A Labour minister said England's school system has strengths, including phonics, but also a big and entrenched disadvantage gap. | · | · | · | |
| England's most disadvantaged quarter of pupils score higher than the Welsh average in reading. | · | · | · | |
| The Conservatives said a whole generation of young people in Wales is being failed. | · | · | · | |
| The new education minister could not state how many children leave primary school without the required reading skills. | · | · | · | |
| Wales is below the average of all 91 countries taking the PISA tests. | · | · | · | |
| Wales scrapped school league tables and SATs and introduced a play-based curriculum, while England did the opposite. | · | · | · | |
| Wales's weaker Pisa results were partly attributed to its education policies such as scrapping league tables and SATs. | · | · | · | |
| Welsh education minister said there are lessons to be learned from England, particularly on phonics. | · | · | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
A short bulletin item in a rolling news summary. It gives only the top line that UK pupils scored highly in PISA, then pivots to the organisers' warning about a global decline in reading standards. It does not cover the England and Wales gap or the home nations rankings.
- “School students in the UK have scored highly in the international science, reading and maths tests held every three years around the world.”
- “However, the organisers warned that overall there was a most concerning decline in international reading standards, blaming digital distractions and changing attitudes towards reading.”
Detailed UK-wide summary with home nation comparison and expert analysis. It explains what PISA is, gives UK rankings by subject, and puts the biggest global concern on the fall in reading skills. It also gives practical advice to parents about reading longer and out loud.
- “In reading, the UK came 11th in the table over there with Singapore and China in the two top spots.”
- “When we look at the separate scores for each of the home nations, well, England is first, Northern Ireland is just ahead of Scotland and then Wales in 4th position.”
- “Reading is the mother of all skills.”
Wales-focused framing from the start. It asks why Welsh children are falling further behind, highlights that England's most disadvantaged quarter outperform the Welsh average in reading, and presses the new Welsh education minister on whether policy divergence from England was a mistake. It also lists Wales-specific policy choices such as scrapping league tables, SATs and play-based learning.
- “why are Welsh school children falling further behind in maths and are still behind pupils in the rest of the UK in reading and science?”
- “England's most disadvantaged quarter of pupils score higher than the Welsh average in reading.”
- “No, I don't. I'm happy to learn valuable lessons for us from England, particularly around phonics.”
A television report that leads on English teenagers being among the best in the world and the widening gap with Wales. It adds classroom colour, including a school phone ban, reading out loud and using graphic novels, and notes AI should be used with care. It also says Wales has seen the steepest falls and Scotland is resetting its curriculum.
- “English teenagers are among the best worldwide for reading mathematics and science according to new data”
- “It reveals that England is outperforming the rest of the home nations”
- “Wales has seen the steepest falls in these tests”
A longer Wales-centred package that uses Cardiff learners and tutors to illustrate gaps. It challenges the poverty explanation by noting England's poorest quarter outscore the Welsh average in reading, and questions whether Wales' freer curriculum widens inequality. The education minister is pressed on missing data about children who leave primary without reading skills.
- “Teenage pupils in England are in the top 10 of best performing students in the world for maths, reading, and science.”
- “the poorest 25% of pupils in England scored better at reading than the average Welsh pupil.”
- “We have the data. What we haven't done, which we will do, is to create a national understanding of the baseline of where these learners are.”
Offers the clearest numerical gap between England and Wales, including 10-year trend lines and the claim that Welsh teenagers are about a year and a half behind. It also covers the global reading decline and hasty readers, and reports political reaction in Wales, including Tory criticism and the new minister's promise of a plan.
- “England's 15 year olds are among the best in the world in reading, maths and science.”
- “Welsh teenagers are about a year and a half behind English pupils, not just in reading but also in maths and science as well.”
- “The Tories have said that a whole generation of young people in Wales is being failed.”
A rankings-heavy report that sets out where England and Wales sit internationally. It says England is ninth in reading and Wales 31st, repeats the finding that England's poorest quarter beat the Welsh average in reading, and notes the Welsh government promises answers next week.
- “Wales falling further behind England, Northern Ireland and Scotland in maths, science and reading.”
- “England is in ninth place ahead of most other big European countries.”
- “Wales is some way back in 31st place.”
Frames PISA as evidence in a political argument about Michael Gove's school reforms, phonics and Labour's education record. The interview focuses on whether England's lead over Scotland and Wales vindicates Gove-style policies, then moves to disadvantage, class and a new unit on white working-class pupils. It gives little detail on Wales' own results or the global reading decline.
- “England way ahead of Scotland and Wales, which didn't adopt the reforms that Michael Gove introduced when he was Education Secretary.”
- “I think it shows that there are lots of strengths in the English school system, including in areas like phonics”
- “we've got quite a big and entrenched disadvantage gap within our school system.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.