UK pupils’ science and maths scores lowest since 2006 in international tests

Global slump means reading ranking still up slightly in OECD assessment of 15-year-olds, but results vary between UK nations

The UK has suffered a sharp decline in its performance in the latest round of influential international academic tests, wiping out recent progress, as the widespread disruption caused by Covid continued to take its toll on education.

The OECD’s programme for international student assessment (Pisa), which compares educational attainment among 15-year-olds around the world, showed UK schoolchildren achieved their lowest scores in mathematics and science since 2006 – the first year of comparable data.