England's schools have achieved strong results in international comparisons for 15-year-olds in reading, maths, and science. The Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) indicates that England's performance has held up well when compared with 90 other countries.
This success bucks a wider international trend, with England showing no decline in reading capability since the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) last published results in 2022. The emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and maths (Stem) at both primary and secondary levels appears to have been effective.
While all four UK nations scored well in science, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland did not achieve the same level of success as England in reading and maths.