Britain has jumped up international rankings for maths following Government efforts to import Chinese-style teaching into the classroom.

The UK came 18th, up from 27th three years ago, in the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) league table.

The Pisa tests, which are administered by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, were taken by 79 countries last year.

The assessment is carried out every three years and involves more than half a million 15-year-olds across the globe taking two-hour tests.

Last year the UK scored an average of 502 points in mathematics, up from 492 in 2015.

Within the UK, the average score for maths among English pupils (504) was “significantly higher” than scores for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the Department for Education said.

Experts have said that ministers’ attempts to emulate Chinese teaching methods are likely to have driven up the UK’s test results. Countries in the Far East - including China, Singapore and Hong Kong – have long come at the top of the league tables for maths.

Prof Valsa Koshy, an expert in maths education at Brunel University, said: “Importing maths teaching from Far Eastern countries means there has been an emphasis on children needing to master the basic facts and traditional skills such as times tables. This used to be laughed at as too old fashioned.”