In a no-nonsense letter to parents, Portfields School in Newport Pagnell REFUSED to allow any poorly 10 or 11-year-olds to stay at home during the five-day exam period.

Headteacher Mary St-Amour wrote: 'Next week Y6 children will be undertaking their SATs tests... The rules are that children must be in school every day otherwise they do not get marks for the test they miss.'

She continued: 'If your child is ill, please bring him/her in and we will look after them sensitively and they can go home after the test.'

"It's the craziest thing I've heard," said one parent. "Are they seriously saying that these exams are more important than a child's health? And what if the child is infectious? It could have all kinds of horrible consequences."

Said another: "We were surprised when we read this letter. We know the school wants to get a good score but this seems rather extreme."

Portfields, which held special Saturday morning SATs science booster clinics has received four outstanding Ofsted reports and is a high-flyer in Government league tables.

This week Mrs St-Amour told the Citizen: "I am sorry my letter has been misinterpreted in such a way. Obviously I would not expect a pupil to come in to school if they were really ill. But I was trying to inform parents that if their child just had a slight cold, or felt a little queasy, then it would affect the result for the entire class if that pupil was absent.

"We can apply for a re-take if a child misses a test but it can only be in exceptional circumstances," said Mrs St-Amour, who stressed Portfield's pupils were "enthusiastic and positive" about the SATs.

"We value the whole child here; it is not just about test results."
The DCSF guidelines confirm that a school's results are based on the achievements of ALL eligible pupils, including any children absent on the day of the test.

The guidelines admit: 'The school's results may be affected by these (absent) pupils because they are included in the calculations but do not achieve a
result.'