The majority of parents and teachers questioned said they were opposed to the tests, while no teacher said they believed they are good for their pupils. Common stress symptoms they reported in the children included anxiety, misbehaving, lack of interest in school, difficulty sleeping and mood swings.
Phil Willis, Liberal Democrat education spokesman and a former teacher, said SATs should be abolished in England as well as Wales and Northern Ireland, where plans are already in place to axe the tests. He said, 'We are doing immeasurable damage to the education of our children, and to the children themselves, through raising levels of stress for little purpose other than ministers crowing in Parliament.'
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