The UK has climbed up the international school league tables for maths, science and reading – but British teenagers are among the least satisfied with their lives, a major global study has found.
The tests, taken by 15-year-olds in 79 countries and regions, show the UK has improved its rankings on three years ago and British pupils performed significantly better in maths in 2018 than in 2015.
But the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) study found just 53% of UK students are satisfied with their lives, compared to 67 per cent across the OECD countries.
Just over one in three (35%) of students from the UK described themselves as ‘always happy’, which is below the OECD average of 41%, the report reveals.
Worried about the worriers
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Headteachers, said: ‘The impressive statistics around maths are tarnished by the worryingly high percentages of miserable and worried pupils.’
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, added that the data showing that fewer students in the UK are satisfied with their lives was ‘worrying’.
He said: ‘It is clear that many young people feel under great pressure in a society in which the stakes often seem very high to them in terms of achieving their goals.’
Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said: ‘PISA finds a clear link between successful education systems and pupils’ sense of belonging and life satisfaction.
‘The finding that pupils in England are less likely to agree that their life has a clear meaning compared with their counterparts globally, and that two-thirds described themselves as sometimes or always feeling worried, should be deeply concerning.’
He added: ‘In the context of austerity, growing rates of child poverty and homelessness, low pay and job insecurity, a generation of young people in England is growing up believing that their future is bleak.’
