Ipsos, a market research company, has released the results of its 2025 Education Monitor, a 30-country survey on education and young people's lives. The study shows strong global support for controlling children's access to social media and growing concern for youth mental health.
In Great Britain, the findings reveal that people are more positive about their education system compared to many European countries, but also show high levels of concern about technology's impact and a lack of public funding.
Across the 30 countries, 71 percent of people support banning social media for children under 14, both in and out of school. In Britain, 70 percent agree with this, up 7 percentage points from last year. Support is also strong for banning smartphones in schools, with 63 percent of Britons in favor compared to 55 percent globally. In addition, 43 percent of Britons would ban AI tools like ChatGPT in schools, versus 37 percent worldwide.
When asked about the quality of education, 49 percent of Britons rated their system as "good," the fifth-highest score among all countries surveyed. This contrasts with countries like Türkiye, Hungary, and France, where negative views dominate. However, funding remains a major concern in Britain. A lack of public funding was cited as the biggest challenge by 37 percent of people, well above the global average of 26 percent.
The survey also asked about favorite school subjects. In Britain, history came out on top, followed by science and maths. Maths, however, is also among the most disliked subjects, tied with religion, with 31 percent recalling it negatively.
Looking ahead, Britain is one of the few countries expecting rising pupil numbers in the next five years, alongside Ireland and Australia. This goes against the global trend, especially in Europe and Asia, where falling student numbers are widely expected.
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