Reading skills of English teens worse than the Chinese

Updated on: Friday, October 14, 2011

The reading skills of English teens seem to be deteriorating, with a new study revealing that they lag behind by a ear-and-a-half behind their Chinese peers.

In fact, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) study's analysis has revealed that English teens are some 18 months behind Chinese of the same age and one year behind those from South Korea and Finland.

Not only that, 15-year-olds in Britain also languish at least six months behind their counterparts in Australia, Hong Kong, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore and Japan, according to the findings.

The OECD survey has showed that England has fallen in the international tables over the past nine years. In reading, Britain has gone from seventh to 25th, eighth to 28th in maths and fourth to 16th in science, the 'Daily Mail' reported.

England was also out-scored by Estonia, Iceland, Denmark and Slovenia. In science, China again leads the rankings.

UK Schools Minister Nick Gibb has condemned the poor level of standards and blamed it on an education system and a society that has placed little importance on reading for pleasure.

"The gulf between our 15-year-olds' reading abilities and those from other countries is stark a gap that starts to open in the very first few years of a child's education," he was quoted as saying.

He added: "Our writers Charles Dickens and Charlotte Bronte, George Orwell and Ian McEwan are the finest in the world. It is time we are also among the best readers in the world."

Reading skills of English teens worse than the Chinese

More Education news