Public split over AI use in UK schools, survey finds

Image credit: Tung Nguyen from Pixabay

The British public is divided over how artificial intelligence should be used in schools, with strong support for its role in helping teachers with administrative work but widespread opposition to its use for marking.

A new survey of 2,221 UK adults, commissioned by Cambridge University Press & Assessment, found that nearly six in ten (59%) back teachers using AI to complete time‑consuming admin tasks such as lesson planning, while 31% are against it. In contrast, almost two‑thirds (62%) oppose the use of AI to mark coursework, with just over a quarter (27%) in favour.

The findings come shortly after the Department for Education issued new guidance on generative AI in schools and amid reports from The Sutton Trust and Teacher Tapp highlighting patchy uptake of the technology in classrooms.

The survey revealed overwhelming public resistance to students using AI to complete coursework in full, with 89% rejecting the idea and only 5% supporting it. Views were more balanced when it came to students using AI tools to improve punctuation and grammar, with 46% in favour and 44% opposed.

Reducing or removing coursework completed at home to prevent misuse of AI was seen as the best option by just 16% of respondents. However, more than half (52%) believe teaching the responsible use of AI should be part of the secondary school curriculum, compared with only 34% who think it should be introduced at primary level.

The top concerns about AI in education identified by respondents were inaccuracies in AI‑generated information and a loss of human interaction in teaching and learning.

Jill Duffy, chief executive of Cambridge’s UK exam board OCR, said: “AI is already in our schools and is not going away. A coordinated national strategy, with funding to ensure no schools are left behind, will build public confidence in its transformational potential.

The public is clear that coursework is too important to lose, even in the age of AI. It enables us to test different skills, and to reduce the intense volume of exams taken at 16. These findings should be seen as a challenge to all of us in education: find a way to adapt coursework so it is fit for the AI century.”

The survey also found notable differences between men and women. Two‑thirds of women (67%) oppose the use of AI for marking coursework, compared with 57% of men. Women were also more likely than men to reject adding responsible AI use to the secondary school curriculum (40% versus 29%).

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