Thank you, Presiding Officer. Today sees the publication of the 2015 PISA results. Let me get straight to the point: we would all have liked to have seen greater progress. I think we will all agree in this Chamber that we are not where we want to be. These tests, taken last year, included half a million 15-year-olds in 72 countries. Here in Wales, our national report describes a stabilisation in our reading results. We saw the biggest increase in the UK in our maths score. Of those higher-performing countries that scored over 450 points, only four countries out of the 71 who participated in PISA saw a bigger increase in maths. But, on science, the focus of this round of assessment, the results are, frankly, deeply, deeply disappointing. And although the average score for science has declined across the OECD, this should be of no comfort to us. I will say more on science in due course. I have made clear that international evidence, and learning from the best, will guide our reforms. We will hold firm to that course. We will use these results and the rich data that they give us, allied to the forthcoming OECD report, to support and challenge my priorities and programme. When I invited the OECD last month to look at how we were doing in Wales, their advice to me was unambiguous: stay the course; be brave; you are doing the right things.

And I see the commitment to staying the course of our reforms up and down Wales.  I have visited many schools across the country in my short period since taking up this post. There is an eagerness to be part of our education journey. No longer are we reform fatigued, which was the OECD’s assessment of Wales back in 2014. Wales now has a clear direction of travel. We have plans in place to develop an excellent professional workforce. We know what we want our new curriculum to deliver. We are introducing robust qualifications that will be nationally and internationally respected. A work in progress, but with much, much more to do.

The 2014 OECD report into the Welsh education system also told us that we should, and I quote,

‘Treat developing system leadership as a prime driver of education reform’.

I am convinced that promoting and supporting leadership must be central to our reforms. However, if I’m honest, not enough progress has been made in this area. That is why, last month, I announced plans for a new national academy of educational leadership. It will develop the current and future leadership talent for Wales and ensure that all schools—all schools—can deliver our new curriculum. Now more than ever, Wales needs strong leaders that are up for the challenge.

The results published today have highlighted issues around science that chime with our own understanding of what has been happening. The new science GCSEs were introduced for teaching for the first time only this September. I am pleased that schools are already moving away from teaching a mix of BTEC and GCSEs, which were failing to properly equip our young people. Presiding Officer, it pains me to say that a combination of cynicism, dumbing down and lowered ambitions meant that a significant number of schools were in the habit of entering a high number of pupils just for BTEC science rather than for GCSE. I’m pleased to report that, over the summer, we saw an increase of over 5,500 more entries into GCSEs across all the sciences. Whilst that is promising, it is just the beginning. In the coming months I will be announcing new ambitious plans to tackle this issue head on so our young people are given the opportunity they deserve to study science at a high level.

I know that PISA divides opinion. I hear it from some in the profession. That must change, as, make no mistake, it remains the recognised international benchmark for skills. Countries around the world use it as a signal to entrepreneurs, employers and investors. Just as importantly, it is used to help enhance public confidence in the school system. It has never been more important to demonstrate to ourselves and to the world that our young people can compete with the best. Old securities are on their way out. Other small nations have stolen a march on us on their reform journeys. But if Ireland and Estonia can do it, then so can we.

Our sense of national mission must recognise this truth. PISA is, and will be, the shop window for the success of our reforms. I am confident that my, and our, emphasis on leadership, teaching excellence, equity and well-being for learners, and collective responsibility, will enable us to reach the highest standards. PISA allows us to judge ourselves against the world, and everybody in our system must understand this. It is a check and review against our development and it will remain so.

If you consider the OECD PISA tests to be of great importance, then I hope you will also listen to their prescribed prognosis for Wales, on which our reforms are based. These reforms are rooted in what works. The easy thing to do would now be to rip up the plan and start all over again, and I’m sure some will make that case, but we owe it to our pupils, parents and the profession to do what is right. The OECD has identified Portugal as a country that has much improved. It has taken them 14 years, pursuing reforms that work and holding steady to the course. They took the much-needed tough decisions and now they reap the rewards. Wales must now have the courage to do likewise to deliver on our national mission of education reform.