International education rankings to be published

Wales' position in the international education rankings will be revealed this morning, when the results of the so-called PISA tests are published.

15-year-old pupils from more than 60 countries around the world were tested on their maths, reading and science skills.

The tests are held once every three years and when the results were last published, in December 2010, Welsh pupils scored lower than their counterparts in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland in all three areas.

In the worldwide tables, Wales was ranked 40th out of 67 countries for maths, 38th for reading, and 30th for science.

The Welsh Government described those results as "unacceptable" and "a wake-up call", launching a plan to improve standards, which included the banding of secondary schools and the launch of a literacy and numeracy framework.

It targeted a place in the world's top 20 when PISA tests are sat again in 2015.

Current Education Minister Huw Lewis has though warned not to expect a significant improvement this time.

PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) is the world's biggest international education survey, held by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The latest results - from tests which pupils sat last year - are due to be published at 10am this morning.