By Ian Austen

ian.austen@essnmedia.co.uk

More than 100 people have signed a petition calling for an end to national tests for primary school pupils.

The petition was organised by the Croydon branch of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) as part of a campaign calling for the Government to stop Standard Assessment Tests (SATs).

Teachers who gathered in North End, in Croydon town centre, handed out balloons to children containing an anti-SATs message.

They also spoke to parents about why they oppose the testing system for young children.

Dave Harvey, secretary of Croydon NUT, said: "Several parents asked us what would happen if the tests were abolished.

"We made it clear teachers would have more time to give them regular updates on how their children were doing without all the pressure of the tests being on them."

Mr Harvey added that the NUT opposes SATs because they put "an unnecessary strain" on children, their parents and teachers.

He believes the tests have resulted in "the tyranny of league tables" which has seen schools judged on raw tests results without taking into account the social backgrounds of children attending them.

"You have to ask why English schools are the only ones in the United Kingdom on which the tests are still imposed when it has been accepted they don't work anywhere else," he said.