A new report has warned that the academic attainment of pupils in Wales could fall behind that of Romania, saying that unless urgent action is taken, pupils here could be overtaken by the Eastern European nation in international performance tables by 2040.

The report, titled Devolved to Fail, shows Welsh pupils are now performing at the same level as England’s most disadvantaged children. Results in reading, maths, and science are already far behind England, with Welsh pupils effectively losing out on a full year of learning compared to their peers across the border.

Absence levels are also higher in Wales, nearly 70% higher than in England, and half of secondary schools inspected last year were found to have problems with teaching or attendance.

However, GCSE results were up slightly on 2024’s attainment last week when students learned how they had fared in their exams.

62.5 per cent of students achieved grades of C or above, compared to 62.2 per cent the year before.

Despite the modest upturn in results, Laura Anne Jones MS, Reform UK’s representative for South Wales East, claimed that local children are being failed by the Labour Government and methods for teaching in Wales were outdated.

“These findings confirm what I hear time and again from parents and teachers across Monmouthshire and our wider region,” she said.

“Labour has left Welsh schools trailing the rest of the UK, with Wales now at the bottom of every major education ranking. Local children are being failed every single day by a system and Government that refuses to change tack.”

The report also found that many schools in Wales are still using the “cueing method” to teach reading, a practice abandoned in England nearly 20 years ago after experts proved it harmed children’s ability to learn.

Ms Jones also alluded to the fact that parents in England can see exactly how their schools are performing through public league tables, but that in Wales there is no such transparency between schools, government and parents.

She added, “families here in Monmouthshire deserve the same clarity and accountability. Parents should be able to see how their children’s schools are performing and make informed decisions. Reform UK will always stand up for parents and pupils, and fight to give every child the best possible chance to succeed.”

“Every child in Wales deserves the very best education that they can have.”

“We need real reform to ensure every child can read, write, and thrive. That means ending Labour’s failed literacy experiments, putting accountability back into the system, changing the self-assessment method, and backing teachers with proven methods that work, essentially replacing the new skills based curriculum. More investment into Teaching Assistants and support for ALN students is also essential.”

“Also, with absenteeism still a major problem in Wales, we must tackle the wider issues that affect the school day, such as the loss of safe and reliable school transport, and make sure children who need Additional Learning Needs support are assessed much more quickly.”