London's schools are falling behind many global competitors, according to an analysis of international tests. The capital's schools have been held up as a showcase of rising standards. But the University College London (UCL) Institute of Education study, using OECD Pisa test results, suggests they are weaker than those in many Asian cities and the rest of the UK.
Academics at the UCL Institute of Education say they have produced a robust sample of 42 schools by combining the results of two year groups taking the tests in London in 2009 and 2012.
The analysis compares these London results, in reading, maths and science, with the performance of 15-year-olds in cities, regions and countries around the world. It suggests if London entered the Pisa tests as a separate education system, pupils taking maths would be three years behind their counterparts in Shanghai, which has the world's top-ranking results.
As well as being behind high-flyers in maths such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Finland and Poland, teenagers in London were below the level of counterparts in countries such as Spain, Italy, France, Slovenia and Latvia.
For reading, London was behind Madrid in Spain, Riga in Latvia and Massachusetts, the highest-achieving state in the United States. In science tests, London would be above the US state of Florida and Buenos Aires in Argentina, but behind Moscow in Russia and Quebec in Canada.
The report also suggests London schools were below the UK national average, with girls and disadvantaged and ethnic minority pupils in London performing less well at Pisa tests compared with their GCSE results.
