Wales has the UK's worst school results by far. We investigated why

For the past 25 years, Wales has radically reshaped its education system, taking a radically different path from England. But it remains far behind every other home nation in performance in reading, maths and science, according to a new report. So what's behind these poor scores? It launched a play-based curriculum for young children, abolished school league tables, and scrapped tests like SATs traditionally held in primary school. Its new curriculum gives schools greater freedom over what they teach, aiming to develop critical thinking. But it has its critics, and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) assessments don't make for pretty reading for the Welsh government. In the 2025 results, Wales was the lowest-performing UK nation, something that has happened in each of the tests since 2006, and the gap with England in particular is widening. We'll investigate why Wales is performing so poorly. Is it all down to the nation's alternative approach, or are there other factors at play? • Subscribe to ITV News on YouTube: http://bit.ly/2lOHmNj • Get breaking news and more stories at http://www.itv.com/news Follow ITV News on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@itvnews?lang=en Follow ITV News on Instagram:   / itvnews   Follow ITV News on Facebook:   / itvnews   Follow ITV News on X:   / itvnews