SATs exams to be boycotted by many in West Midlands schools

The boycott is part of a nationwide protest against the tests, which critics say are more difficult than previous years.

The protest is also aimed at opposing the Government's plans to force all schools to become academies.

The new SATs system means that children as young as five will be tested on their grasp key skills, including times tables, fractions and punctuation – two years earlier than the previous tests demanded.

The action was prompted by campaign group, Let Our Kids Be Kids, which has been set up by a group of parents with children in year two. They wholly oppose placing extra exam pressures on primary children.

The Facebook group Midlands Parents Defending Education posted: "As parents we are concerned about our kids being over tested, overworked and so stressed out by school that, rather than improve, they simply switch off."

Now thousands of parents and teachers are supporting the protest, with many planning 'a day of fun learning' for their children. Parents from across the UK have listed various places they are taking their children as an alternative to schooling.

Paula Young, aged 42, and Gary Young, aged 46, of Fradley Junction, Lichfield, are keeping their two daughters, Eleanor, aged 10 and Kate, aged eight, off school tomorrow. The parents are members of group 'Lichfield Parents Supporting Primary Education' which opposes the new tests.

Mrs Young said: "Of course it is important for children to be assessed. I just don't these SATs are the right way to go about it."

A petition backing the protest on the 38 Degrees website had almost 31,000 signatures on Friday, including those claiming to be teachers.

Campaigners wrote an open letter to Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, in which they said they 'represent the voice of parents across the country'.