UK pupils do more homework than many European countries
Report by the OECD finds a wide gap in homework levels between wealthy and poor school pupils

School pupils in the UK are given more homework than many other European countries, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Teenagers in the UK take home more work from school than those in countries such as Finland, Germany, Sweden and Austria, but far less than pupils in Singapore and Shanghai.
Italy, Ireland and Poland also had higher levels of homework than the UK.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The OECD found that the UK has one of the widest gaps in homework hours between wealthy and disadvantaged pupils.
Andreas Schleicher, the OECD's director of education, told the BBC that the difference in homework hours carried out by richer and poorer students might be related to a lack of space to study and the amount of help parents could offer with the work.
He suggested that schools could help bridge the gap by providing a space where pupils could do their homework in school.
The time spent on homework is linked to higher achievement, said Schleicher. However, Finland and South Korea are examples of countries that achieve high results with some of the lowest levels of homework.
The weekly average for the UK was five hours, but the OECD said this was balanced with figures from young people who appeared to do almost no homework at all.
Here are the countries/cities that offer the highest levels of homework:
1. Shanghai
2. Russia
3. Singapore
4. Kazakhstan
5. Italy
6. Ireland
7. Romania
8. Estonia
9. Lithuania
10. Poland
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - May 4, 2025
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - deportation, Canadian politeness, and more
-
5 low approval cartoons about poll numbers
Cartoons Artists take on fake pollsters, shared disapproval, and more
-
Deepfakes and impostors: the brave new world of AI jobseeking
In The Spotlight More than 80% of large companies use AI in their hiring process, but increasingly job candidates are getting in on the act
-
English literature: is it doomed?
Speed Read Arts and humanities courses are under attack thanks to a shift to ‘skills-led’ learning
-
Are UK classrooms a new political battleground?
Speed Read Government has issued new guidance on political neutrality in schools
-
Kathleen Stock resigns: the ‘hounding’ of an academic on the front line of transgender rights debate
Speed Read Sussex University students claim ‘trans and non-binary students are safer and happier for it’
-
How 100,000 ‘lost children’ disappeared from UK school system
Speed Read Experts warn that vulnerable pupils may be recruited by gangs after failing to return to education post-lockdown
-
Why is the government planning to cut arts education funding by 50%?
Speed Read Proposal described by critics as ‘catastrophic’ and ‘an attack on the future of UK arts’
-
Schools do not spread Covid-19, multiple studies find
Speed Read Reports from Germany, Norway and the WHO conclude schoolchildren are not vector of infection
-
Universities must consider refunding students hit by Covid disruption, regulator warns
Speed Read Institutions under investigation as thousands of undergraduates remain locked down amid coronavirus outbreaks
-
Coronavirus: will UK schools have to close again?
Speed Read Thousands of teachers are self-isolating - but the government is determined not to order new closures