ABSTRACT
The effect of the examination on the primary schools is by common consent disastrous. In the words of a primary head teacher who had recently returned from teaching in another country, ‘It hinders true development and deprives the children of both understanding and enjoyment.’ Or, as a secondary head put it, ‘Five years of cramming stifles the eagerness to find out . . . when boys come here they are no longer interested in work'.
