October 2026: Bangkok's British School Boom and a Mixed Report Card for Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam
PISA 2025 results came out for all three of this month's focus countries, and the picture varies widely: South Korea holds firm near the top of the world despite a reading slide, Thailand climbed five places in the rankings, and Vietnam is grappling with the fact that most of its students haven't reached basic reading proficiency. Bangkok's international-school market kept growing anyway, with six new British-curriculum campuses opening for the new academic year. South Korea, meanwhile, took a different tack on screen time, with more than 10,000 Gyeonggi students taking on a 100-day smartphone challenge.
The Korea Herald: Korean students rank near top globally in PISA despite reading decline
South Korean 15-year-olds scored an average of 526 in science, 501 in reading and 522 in mathematics in PISA 2025, all well above the corresponding OECD averages. Reading was the standout concern, falling 14 points from 515 in 2022, with the Ministry of Education linking the decline to a broader international trend tied to digital media use and pointing to plans to expand reading programmes linked to classroom instruction.
The Nation Thailand: Thailand plans AI learning framework after PISA gains
Thailand recorded gains across all three PISA core areas, climbing five places in the global rankings from 58th in 2022 to 53rd in 2025, with science rising 23 points to 432, mathematics up 13 points to 407, and reading up 13 points to 392. The Ministry of Education plans to finalise an AI learning framework for teachers and students this year and to introduce media and AI literacy teaching from primary level.
VnExpress International: 60% of Vietnamese students fail to reach basic reading proficiency
More than 7,350 Vietnamese students across 194 secondary schools took part in PISA 2025, scoring an average of 457 in science, 443 in mathematics and 392 in reading, with 59 percent of students unable to use reading comprehension to handle real-world situations. Vietnam still outscored every Southeast Asian participant except Singapore in science, and the 2025 cycle was the first in which the country administered PISA on computers rather than paper.
British Schools Asia: Six British-curriculum schools enter Thailand in 2026, reshaping the market from day one
Six new British or British-influenced international schools opened for the 2026-27 academic year in Thailand, including Dulwich College Bangkok, Wycombe Abbey International School Bangkok, Highgate International School Chonburi, Glenalmond Phuket International School, SPGS International School Bangkok and The Jataka School. Kasikorn Research Centre put the value of Thailand's international-school market at 95 billion baht in 2025, with wealthy Thai families now the dominant and faster-growing source of demand rather than expatriates.
SBS News: No smartphone for 100 days: over 10,000 Gyeonggi students take part
More than 10,000 students in South Korea's Gyeonggi province joined a 100-day challenge to set and track their own smartphone-use limits, from cutting off use an hour before bedtime to putting phones away during family meals. The initiative follows a national ban on phone use during class hours that took effect in March, with the top 100 participants earning a place on a historical study tour to China in January.