Every school I ever worked in had money grabbing salary sucking grey suit ghosts who were paid teachers' wages to
sit in quiet offices dreaming up extra jobs for the workers
in the classrooms. The NHS is the same, in this area every septic hospital now calls itself a "university".

john regan, London, England

No doubt more time is spent indoctrinating British children in political correctness than in teaching them useful subjects. That is the way it is in the US. Add in millions of illiterate Third World immigrants who don't speak English, and of course you're slipping down the table -- as we are also.

MaryJ, San Francisco, US

Korea is no1. Korean high school students study from 730am to 11pm and have school on Saturdays, vacation time means days finish at 5pm! Students all study 11 subjects.Exams tend to be all multiple choice.Korean students literacy and numeracy is very high, their thinking skills not so impressive!

Tim, Seoul, Korea

". English seven-year-olds endured 100 more hours than average in the"

"While the average country taught seven to eight-year-olds for 796 hours a year, in England this was 890 hours. "

Is it U.K. or just England?? Where are the figures for Wales, Scotland, & N. Ireland?????????????

Robert Allan, Pickering, Canada

As a current student myself, I have to say I think the U.K as a whole could take a hint from the education system in other countries. High quality education needs to be made available regardless of your location and status and stop wasting money on nonsense like hairdressing courses.

Cory, London,

What rubbish!

Since Nu-Labour got in exam results have got better and better with a 99% pass rate now at GCSE
My friends young PRIMARY child came home the other day and asked if she was Polish AS EVERYONE ELSE WAS-enough said

steve, coventry, uk

We're a country that prides itself on being average. At no point do we try and be more than that. If you go to normal school then they chances of sucess are limited. Because appartenly its ok to be average, what about if you're better than average? well you're on your own then.

Sunny Patel, Coventry,

This is not surprising when you see some of the social degradation in the country. Government can only do so much, parents and teachers have to also do their share. It is no good to have a society based on a lack of respect and tolerance and then expect your children to grow into decent individuals

Vernon Butcher, basingstoke, hampshire

The OECD is based in France, how did the French do?

Colin, Poole, UK

This is simply further confirmation of the trend shown clearly for at least the last three decades. The Dept of Ed (or equivalent) and NUT have opposed any remedy, while selling declining teaching standards by lowering the hurdles. Collectively, they have compromised the future of a generation.

Steve, Cambridge,

People assume that post 16 or 18 year olds must be in some kind of higher education. In countries where children frequently repeat a year in grade school this is not the case. Also, deferred commencement of grade school is how many countries bring immigrant children up to speed.

S. Harvey, Lausanne, Switzerland

In other words its about quality of teaching - not quantity and more exams. Double teachers pay, double the standards they have to achieve, kick out the poor performers like in any other business and bring back discipline to the schools.

Steve, London, UK

10 years on and education, education, education is such as failure, failure, failure. The Minister for Children should hang his head in shame.

Andrew Piercy, London, UK

It is becoming too simple to take the easy route in the UK education system.

The government need to put a stop to "soft subjects" such as Media Studies; encourage students to concentrate on maths, english and the core sciences; crack down on discipline; and increase the salaries of teachers...

Barry, Wokingham, UK