England schools surge; Scotland and Wales fall in latest Pisa test 2026

Key Points

• PISA 2025 predicts England’s progress in reading, maths and science compared to a growing backwardness of Scotland and Wales.
• In core subjects, Welsh 15-year-olds already fall behind by almost two years relative to their English peers; the gap has doubled in reading, tripled in maths and increased fourfold in science.
• Scottish students are one and a half years behind in maths and science; Northern Irish are behind in science.
• The differences are due to decisions about education policy concerning curriculum, testing, accountability, and autonomy rather than funding, because Scotland allocates 20% more money for each pupil than England does.
• Critics connect poor results of Scottish and Welsh schools with the SNP’s Curriculum for Excellence and the Labour-led reforms of Wales which decreased testing and league tables.
• English reforms after 2010 were focused on rich curriculum, synthetic phonics, regular testing and inspections by Ofsted, along with the growth of academies.
• Lucy Powell, the Secretary of State for Education, signals a move to skills and technical training, not to examinations, so Conservatives warn of a risk to go down as Scotland and Wales.

Wales (Wales Times) September 09, 2026 – England has moved further ahead of the rest of the United Kingdom in international school rankings as new Pisa 2025 data shows widening gaps in reading, mathematics and science between the nations. The OECD assessment, which tests 15‑year‑olds every three years, found that while England climbed the global table, Scotland and Wales recorded lower scores and fell behind both England and many European peers.

What do the Pisa 2025 results show for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?

The 2025 cycle assessed 760,000 students worldwide and reported that Welsh pupils now perform almost two years behind their English counterparts across the three core domains. In reading the England–Wales gap has doubled since previous cycles; in maths it has tripled; and in science it has increased fourfold, according to analysis cited by The Telegraph. Wales’ 2025 averages were 456 in maths, 459 in reading and 476 in science, compared with England’s 492, 497 and 516 respectively.

Scotland’s results were also weaker than England’s, with secondary pupils more than a year behind in maths and science and around six months behind in reading, as reported by The Scottish Sun and corroborated by other outlets. Northern Ireland performed better than Wales but still trailed England, particularly in science where its pupils were more than a year behind. BBC News noted that all four UK nations saw science scores rise, but England’s improvement was the most pronounced.

Why are outcomes diverging across the UK’s education systems?

Commentators and politicians have pointed to different policy paths since devolution rather than funding differences. Scotland spends roughly 20% more per pupil than England, yet its Pisa scores have declined relative to England’s gains. Michael Gove, the former education secretary, told The Telegraph that England’s combination of a knowledge‑based curriculum, rigorous exams, phonics checks and a strong inspection regime contrasted with weaker accountability and less knowledge‑focused curricula elsewhere.

In Scotland, the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE), introduced from 2010 under the SNP, gave schools wide autonomy and emphasised broad capabilities over prescribed content. Critics argue this produced inconsistent knowledge progression, with secondary teachers often having to “start again” because of variable primary preparation. Wales followed a similar trajectory after commissioning Professor Graham Donaldson, who also shaped Scotland’s reforms, to design a flexible Curriculum for Wales with no mandatory programmes of study.

How have testing and accountability reforms shaped performance?

England retained and expanded standardised testing and school comparisons through league tables and Ofsted inspections, whereas Wales and Scotland moved away from high‑stakes accountability. Wales abolished school league tables in 2001 and scrapped national tests for 14‑year‑olds in 2004, later replacing formal categorisation with self‑evaluation. Scotland removed league tables in 2003 and tests pupils less frequently than England.

Inspectorates also diverged. Estyn in Wales removed one‑word gradings in 2022, ahead of Ofsted’s 2024 change following the Ruth Perry case, while Education Scotland has long reported separate metric scores rather than an overall grade. Amanda Spielman, former Ofsted chief, told The Telegraph that Ofsted maintained rigorous overall effectiveness judgements longer than Estyn, arguing this helped sustain standards.

What role have school structures and union influence played?

England’s academy programme, expanded under the Conservatives, gave many schools greater autonomy from local authorities; 84% of state secondary schools are now academies or free schools. Wales and Scotland have no academies, with Welsh ministers previously describing the model as a recipe for “chaos and waste”. Ellie Craven of the Onward think tank argued that Wales’ refusal to adopt academy freedoms contributed to weaker outcomes.

Teaching unions have generally supported reduced testing and more collaborative inspection models. NEU Cymru backed the Curriculum for Wales and its move away from high‑stakes testing, while Scotland’s largest union supports the CfE’s broad aims despite implementation concerns. In England, the relationship between unions and Conservative ministers was often adversarial, but after Labour’s 2024 election victory the NEU welcomed the new government, and critics say Labour’s schools bill appeases unions by rolling back academy freedoms.

What are ministers and opponents saying about the findings?

Education Secretary Lucy Powell has celebrated England’s Pisa performance but has also outlined plans to shift the curriculum towards skills and technical subjects and to reduce emphasis on exams. In an interview she said she wanted to “replace the exam factory with the talent factory”, according to The Telegraph. Michael Gove warned that pursuing “Welsh‑style” policies could set England “back decades”.

Shadow education secretary Laura Trott accused Powell of “national sabotage”, arguing that England’s progress under evidence‑led reforms should not be undone. The Department for Education insisted that expanding vocational routes need not lower academic standards, citing Estonia and Switzerland as models that combine strong academics with technical education. In Wales, Education Minister Anna Brychan acknowledged the results underscored the need to raise standards in reading and maths, while Scotland’s Education Secretary Mairi McAllan said the findings showed both strengths and areas for improvement.

Background to the development

The Pisa 2025 release on 8–9 September 2026 marks the seventh consecutive cycle in which Wales has ranked lowest among UK nations in maths, reading and science, according to Wales Online and Nation.Cymru. The divergence follows more than a decade of distinct policy choices after devolution, with Scotland and Wales adopting flexible, skills‑oriented curricula and reducing formal testing, while England pursued a knowledge‑rich curriculum, synthetic phonics, frequent assessments and academy expansion. The results have intensified debate over Labour’s proposed reforms in Westminster, with Conservatives warning that moves to de‑emphasise exams and increase local authority control could replicate the trajectories seen in Cardiff and Edinburgh.

Prediction: how could this affect parents, teachers and pupils in England?

If Labour’s planned curriculum and accountability changes in England align more closely with the approaches taken in Scotland and Wales, the most likely effect would be greater uncertainty over standards and slower progress for disadvantaged pupils who have benefited from structured literacy and frequent assessment. Parents may find it harder to compare schools without robust league tables and inspections, while teachers could face pressure to deliver broader skills outcomes with less clear content guidance.

For pupils, especially those from lower‑income households, a shift away from systematic phonics and regular testing risks widening attainment gaps, as evidenced by England’s current advantage in supporting the lowest socioeconomic quartile compared with Scotland and Wales. Conversely, if reforms successfully integrate high‑quality vocational routes without diluting academic rigour, England could maintain its top‑10 global position while improving engagement, as the government suggests.