England has risen to fourth in the PIRLS international reading league tables as schools weathered the Covid attainment hit better than other countries.
Schools minister Nick Gibb said the rise in rankings – from joint eighth out of 50 countries in 2016 – was down to primary school teachers’ “commitment to reading, their commitment to phonics and embracing of the phonics approach introduced by the government”.
The tables this year included 43 countries as the study was severely disrupted Covid, with some nations previously ahead of England not featuring. Here’s everything you need to know …
Literacy test and questionnaires were collected from 4,150 year 5 pupils across 162 schools in England.
