PISA results showcase the strength of England’s schools on the international stage
The latest international education results have delivered a strong vote of confidence in England’s schools, with pupils outperforming the OECD average across maths, reading and science.
The 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results place England first among the four UK nations in all three subjects, while also showing that England continues to perform strongly when compared with education systems around the world.
For those working in schools, the results are an important reminder of something which can too often get lost in the wider debate about education: our schools are doing a fantastic job.
And for our schools and trusts in the North East, delivering for children and young people while facing some of the most persistent structural challenges in the country, that recognition matters even more.
England performs strongly on the international stage
PISA, run by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), assesses the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds around the world every three years. The 2025 study is the largest to date, involving more than 760,000 students across 91 countries and economies.
England recorded a score of 516 in science, up from 503 in 2022. Reading also increased slightly, from 496 to 497, while the mathematics score remained unchanged at 492.
The results revealed that England was the highest-performing of the four UK nations in all three subjects, while both England and the UK as a whole performed above the OECD average across maths, reading and science.
What’s more, separate analysis of the results for England also places the country among the world’s higher-performing education systems: eighth for science, ninth for reading and tenth for maths.
These are results worth celebrating.
The international picture will also be explored at this year’s Schools North East Summit, where Hannah Kitchen from the OECD will look at how England’s 14-18 education system compares with those of other OECD countries, from the choices available to young people to how different systems prepare them for future careers.
A reminder of what our schools achieve
Schools are operating in extraordinarily challenging circumstances. Leaders and teachers are responding every day to pressures around attendance, SEND, recruitment and retention, increasingly stretched budgets and the growing complexity of pupils’ needs.
Against that backdrop, it can be easy for the national conversation about education to become dominated by what is going wrong. PISA provides some important perspective.
Measured against education systems internationally, pupils in England continue to perform strongly. That reflects the expertise, commitment and hard work found throughout our schools and trusts.
It does not mean there is no room for improvement. Nor does it mean that every child has the same opportunities or experiences within our education system. But when the quality of England’s schools is questioned, these results provide powerful evidence of what they are achieving.
The North East story cannot be separated from the ‘structural divide’
That distinction is particularly important in the North East.
Schools North East has consistently argued that education outcomes cannot be understood by looking at schools in isolation from the communities and circumstances in which they operate.
Schools across our region are working against deep-rooted structural inequalities which affect children long before they enter the classroom and continue throughout their education.
Poverty, health inequalities, transport, employment opportunities and disparities in investment all shape the context in which North East schools operate. Yet our schools continue to work relentlessly to improve opportunities and outcomes for children and young people.
The PISA results should therefore strengthen, rather than weaken, the case for addressing those wider inequalities. England has an education system capable of competing with some of the strongest internationally, that is a fact. The challenge, however, is ensuring that every child, wherever they grow up, is able to benefit fully from it.
Schools North East Partner Schools and Trusts can learn more about the ‘structural divide’ and what it means for our region at our Policy Briefing Event on 17 September
From international success to regional opportunity
The PISA results show what our education system is capable of. The question now is how we build on that strength, while tackling the inequalities that continue to hold too many children and young people back.
That conversation is particularly important for the North East. With the Government’s Mission North East putting a renewed focus on regional growth, there is an opportunity to make sure education – and the experience and expertise of those leading our schools – is at the heart of what comes next.
That will be a central thread running through this year’s Schools North East Summit, bringing together more than 500 school and trust leaders from across the region at a significant moment for North East education.
Because the evidence is clear: we have great schools. The challenge now is to make sure the opportunities around them are equally strong.