England's Schools Soar While Other UK Nations Fall Behind

England just proved that great public education is possible, even when the rest of the world is struggling.

The 2025 PISA assessment results revealed a troubling pattern across developed nations: reading, math, and science scores dropped sharply in the wake of the pandemic. But England stood out as a remarkable exception, with state school students posting strong results that climbed while their peers in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland all fell behind.

The improvement didn't happen by accident. Starting in 2010, education reforms led by Michael Gove and schools minister Nick Gibb transformed how English schools teach. They championed what experts call "knowledge-rich" curriculums, focusing on building deep understanding rather than teaching disconnected facts.

Here's what that looks like in practice. In English class, students don't just memorize who Elizabeth Bennet marries in Pride and Prejudice. They learn to write for different purposes, speak clearly in debates, and develop all the communication skills they need to succeed in life. The best way to build those abilities turns out to be teaching real knowledge, and the results prove it works.

The UK has become a natural experiment in education policy. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland each took different approaches, and each saw worse outcomes than England. Wales bet big on "skills-based" learning instead of knowledge, and test scores dropped. Northern Ireland's continued use of selective grammar schools shows why bringing them back to England would be a mistake.

The Bright Side

One myth needs busting: some people claim England's success comes from having more driven immigrant children in schools. The opposite is true. England is one of the few developed countries where second-generation immigrant students actually outperform native students in reading and math. That's not the cause of England's school success; it's proof that the system is working for everyone.

Some of the best-performing schools in England are now doing even better than their already-impressive peers. They're achieving top grades while excelling at "Progress 8" scores, which measure how much students improve regardless of their starting point in life.

The next frontier is figuring out what these exceptional schools are doing right and spreading those practices across the entire system. After years of reforms and improvements, England's state schools have become genuinely excellent, showing that great public education isn't just possible but achievable.