Pupils in England are outperforming the rest of the UK in core subjects
PUPILS in England are streets ahead of their peers in Scotland and Wales, a report shows.
They outperformed the rest of the UK in core school subjects, despite all kids being hit by Covid.
English teens got an average score of 492 for maths, with those in Scotland getting 471 and Welsh pupils an all-time low of 466.
In reading, England scored 496, Scotland 493 and Wales 466.
And in science, youngsters in England averaged 503, compared to 483 in Scotland and 473 in Wales.
The Programme for International Student Assessment included results from 690,000 15-year-olds in 81 countries.
Overall, the UK climbed to 12th in the world for maths, up from 18th, from 14th to 13th in reading and remained at 14th for science.
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Singapore came first in all three subject rankings with East Asian regions dominating.
Covid did have an impact on the results, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which did the research.
But it said falling scores were “already apparent prior to 2018” and that parental support and smartphone use also affected performance.
Last night, Tories blasted Labour-run Wales and SNP-led Scotland for presiding over broken school systems.
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Secretary of State for Wales, David TC Davies, said: “Sir Keir Starmer called Wales his ‘blueprint’ but Welsh Labour are letting children down and failing to help them.”
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan hailed England’s results as a “testament to our incredible teachers”.