CASE STUDY: Sarah-Jayne Marchant, seven, a Seven Fields School pupil. Sarah-Jayne Marchant did not know when her SATs had started, and she only found out she had taken them when they were all finished.

Her school, Seven Fields Primary, told pupils that each exam was just another practice paper to help cut their stress levels.

Sarah-Jayne says she was not too concerned anyway.

She said: "Some were easy and some were hard. In the first exam I didn't know what to do and so I thought about it and saw some numbers that I could use and worked it out.

"That made me feel quite clever. I did feel a bit nervous going into the exams though.

"I have not really been talking about them with my friends but I know that everyone was nervous.

"I did not mind taking them because they were fun, but it would be easier if we didn't have to."

Sarah-Jayne's mum Donna, 32, from Pinehurst said that classes at her daughters school were very mixed ability and that some pupils were more likely to have trouble with the exams than others.

"Sarah-Jayne is quite able so they didn't seem to phase her but my other daughter is 14 and she is a lot more aware of it.

"I think there needs to be some form of tests which are not as formal as the SATs."