Downward spiral of UK education continues

Dr Richard Pike, chief executive of the Royal Society of Chemistry, said today of the PISA 2009 assessment results:

"It's immediately clear that the downward spiral of UK education continues.

"That the birthplace of the Internet, the contraceptive pill and the structure of DNA should rank only 16th in science, and a disastrous 28th in mathematics, is a condemnation of UK education.

"It demonstrates the urgent need for a more rigorous, internationally-competitive education system that does not fudge results and gives our bright young students the edge they need to compete in a global market."

"The Chinese lead these rankings because they don't pander to populist science. Next year their scientists will publish more chemistry journal articles than anywhere else in the world, while UK students and teachers struggle with grade inflation and syllabuses deemed not fit for purpose."