A THREATENED boycott of exams has been called off.

The National Union of Teachers balloted its members on whether to not disrupt next year's Standard Assessment Tests (Sats) in May.

The union says Sats force teachers into a narrow curriculum, which means subjects outside the English, maths and science core such as geography and history are neglected.

It also says pupils end up being taught how to pass exams rather than about the subject itself.

But nationally, while 30,452 voted for a boycott against 4,875 who opposed it, there were 68,402 unreturned votes, so the bid failed. It needed 51,866 supporting votes to go ahead.

Swindon NUT secretary Ian Hill said: "I'm disappointed myself, but the figures were quite positive and showed there is a groundswell of opinion against Sats.

"It shows teachers are not in favour of Sats but they don't want to disrupt the children's education.

"We will continue to campaign against Sats without industrial action, and lobby parents and the Government.

"The worry is that Sats cause stress, and leads to a target-orientated classroom, so teachers can't give a balanced curriculum."

NUT general secretary Doug McAvoy insisted the Government should be under no illusions about the strength of opposition among teachers to what are officially known as Standard Assessment Tests.