Thousands of Sussex children are busy cramming for the summer exams. But are children suffering under their increasingly heavy workload?

Classroom tests, SATS, Key Stage 2, 3 and 4, end of year exams, mid-year exams, mock exams, GCSEs and A-levels.

The list of examinations children have to face throughout their school and college life is daunting.

While testing has always been an essential part of academic life, the introduction of more and more exams has put a strain on the children - as well as their teachers and schools.

At one extreme there are schools which actively prefer not to test pupils, such as the Steiner schools, where children make subject workbooks which are assessed instead.

At the other end are extreme conditions - such as in Japan - where teenage suicide rates are high and violence is increasing because pupils have to sit exams to progress to each academic stage as well as the usual tests.

In England, there is growing concern testing is geared more towards getting the right marks and reputation for the school and less towards the learning of the pupils themselves.

John Pryor, a lecturer in education at the University of Sussex, said pupils were being taught to pass the exams rather than getting a broad education.

He said: "Gradually, the stakes have been raised, particularly for teachers, since the Government introduced the notion of thresholds.

"It's linked into performance management. Teachers can be assessed once they pass through a threshold which puts them on a different salary scale.

"Their progress on that scale is contingent on results and testing is a significant part."

What is also important is how the school performs in exams.

Mr Pryor said: "Once you make passing the test important, people will work at it until they get better at passing the test. It doesn't mean they are learning more."

Mr Pryor was scathing of the Government.

"The Government is operating a system where it is attempting to drive up standards by putting pressure on schools to get test results.

"Examinations are just not necessary early on. The reason we have so many exams is not for the education of the children, they are about demonstrating accountability, they are about finding a means to operate in an educational market.

"The testing regime is a mechanism to demonstrate the effectiveness of Government policy.

"What I am trying to cast doubt on is the notion the tests are producing improvement and I don't think you can say they are."

Despite his criticism of Government examination policy, Mr Pryor felt most children were strong enough to take the pressure of exams.

He said the majority of exams until GCSEs were classed as low-stakes testing, which meant they did not have huge consequences for the individual.

"More exams put more pressure on children but most kids are fairly robust and not worried.

"What worries me more is the effect it has on the curriculum. Kids in Year 6 are reporting the curriculum is very narrow until the SATS because they just keep going over what they have already learnt."

Mr Pryor is not the only expert to think the testing of children is having an adverse effect on the education system as whole.

Hass Yilmaz, principal educational psychologist for Brighton and Hove, said: "I think there is far too much testing of children. We might not get too many referrals about children suffering from exam stress specifically but I do come across it.

"Children are going through constant exams. It's getting to the point where teachers are so anxious about getting children through tests that they are teaching about the test rather than giving them a fuller education."

Dr Yilmaz said while there were league tables, teachers and schools would be forced to respond to the pressures of getting the best marks to give them the best position and reputation.

"There is no real solution at the moment. There are many teachers who would like to get away from exams and do more creative stuff but if children don't do well it reflects on the teachers and it reflects on the school.

"I wouldn't say no testing at all but I would rather it was left to the schools about what to test and when to test, to identify children and match their needs."

Dr Yilmaz also advocated giving back teachers some of their professional judgement because far too often they were now told what to do and how to assess rather than make that decision for themselves.

But he was concerned some children were getting upset by exams and offered a number of revision tips, including planning ahead, starting revision early, avoiding wasting time and giving themselves regular breaks.

"I think some children get very anxious about testing from a very early age and if you have a bad experience very young that can stay with you for a long time.

"Once they become worried about testing, it's very hard to shake that."

Schools councillor Pat Hawkes felt there were plenty of children who thrived on the examination culture, although she agreed that teaching children purely to pass exams was wrong.

She said: "There is a real mixture. Some children love the competitiveness of it and some are quite excited but some go into a sick panic.

"On balance exams are useful but what I think is wrong is when we teach children to learn just for the exams.

"I don't think testing is so bad - it's part of the process of school life.

"The balanced view is that there is something to be gained from exams if children are tested sensibly."