British students lag behind Chinese

By Graeme Paton, Education Editor

Just one-in-20 teenagers in the UK gained top marks in three core subjects that are seen as vital for students’ future careers, figures show. 

The pass rate was much lower than that witnessed in the top-performing nations, with almost 15 per cent of pupils gaining good marks in parts of China. 

The disclosure is made in an analysis of independent tests administered by the respected Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and sat by pupils across the developed world. 

Every four years pupils are tested in reading, writing and maths, with papers being graded between one and six. 

A new analysis of the most recent test shows that an average of four per cent of pupils in each country are classed as academic all-rounders after gaining top grades in all three disciplines. 

In the UK, some 4.6 per cent of pupils achieved the feat – placing the nation marginally above the international average. 

But the study revealed that British teenagers were still significantly outscored by those from other countries, in a move the Government admitted posed a “risk to our economic growth”. 

Ministers insisted they were tackling the skills gap with a series of reforms, including a tougher curriculum, more challenging GCSEs and A-levels and the introduction of new league tables that reward schools for gaining good marks in core academic subjects. 

Last night, Andreas Schleicher, deputy director for education and skills at the OECD, appeared to back the reform programme, saying it could “hold the promise to raise standards". 

He said: “High-level skills across the three key subject areas are critical if countries are to create workers able to compete in the global competition for jobs. 

“But the UK produces fewer than five per cent of these ‘all-rounders’ – while jurisdictions like Shanghai-China and Singapore have more than double that. 

“Reforms to the education system hold the promise to raise standards in science, reading and maths.” 

Elizabeth Truss, the Education Minister, said: “This analysis highlights the importance of reading, maths and science for our future economic prosperity. 

“But it also demonstrates that we lag behind the world leaders. 

“We are addressing this risk to our economic growth by focusing so many of our reforms on ensuring that our young people are strong in these vital subjects.” 

According to figures, Britain was ranked 15th in terms of the proportion of academic all-rounders, below nations such as Japan, Australia, South Korea, Canada, the US and Germany. 

Some 14.6 per cent of pupils in parts of China gained good marks in all three disciplines, followed by Singapore (12.3 per cent), New Zealand (9.9 per cent), Finland (8.5 per cent) and Japan and Hong Kong (8.4 per cent each).