THE headteacher of a Worcester school has revealed what he describes as the “pseudo-philosophical” questions faced by 14-year-olds in the now scrapped Sats exams.

Neil Morris, of Christopher Whitehead Language College, described last week’s decision to scrap the key stage three tests as “an early Christmas present to the teaching profession”. He said: “This was a horrid, poor exam. No longer will beleaguered year nine students sit down the day after the May bank holiday to be confronted by lengthy pseudo-philosophical questions.”

Mr Morris highlighted one of the questions in this year’s English paper, which provides two extracts from Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing and asks: “In the first extract, Benedick has to choose between his loyalty to Claudio and his love for Beatrice; in the second, Beatrice and Benedick do not want to admit that they love each other.

“How do these extracts explore the idea that loving someone is not easy?”

Mr Morris said: “As a 43-year-old, I have spent a lifetime trying to gain an insight into the question of love, yet a 14-year-old has 45 minutes to provide an analysis into the imponderable question that is love, one that has been explored by comedians, poets and philosophers since the start of time.

“No wonder the farcical ‘marking’ varied so much between candidates.”

Headteachers across the county said they were stunned by the sudden decision to scrap the Sats for 14-year-olds last week. Most blamed this summer’s handling of the marking.

“The fabulously ineffective Educational Testing Service with their shambolic handling of the organisation/ marking of the SATs have done us all a favour, highlighting an educational system that is not about learning but about measurement, progress judged in inequitable league tables that do not show the value of performance but simply the wealth and socio demograph of a school,” Mr Morris said.