Molly Kingsley, the co-founder of the parent campaign group UsForThem, said: “To suggest that children should do continuous rounds of exams at the end of a period when their mental health has never been so precarious is about the last thing these children need.

“Whatever one thinks about lockdown, we now know conclusively that school closures have been a disaster for children and their education. We should not be contingency planning to close schools, we should be planning to keep them open. We need a can-do attitude that assumes schools will stay open and that exams will go ahead.”

A ‘relief’ for headteachers

Julie McCulloch, the director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, said that the publication of contingency plans is a “relief” for headteachers, but added that it is “ridiculous” it took so long for these to be published.

She said: “These plans involve students having to sit a series of mock exams which may or may not count towards their final grades, as well as then probably having to take formal exams next summer. This is far from ideal and places them under a great deal of pressure.

“This plan will mean considerable workload for schools and colleges. To mitigate the additional workload, the exam boards should produce banks of assessment questions that can be used flexibly by schools and colleges to construct exam-style papers.”

‘Guarding against over-assessment’

Teachers should “guard against over-assessment” and tests should be “as useful as possible” for pupils preparing to take summer exams, the government guidance said.

“Assessments should, therefore, be similar to full or parts of the exam papers they are preparing to take next summer. Past papers could be used, in full or part, where appropriate,” it added.

In a letter to students, Dr Jo Saxton, the chief regulator at Ofqual, said: “For many of you, this year will be your first experience of formal exams. We don’t want to add to your workload, which is why any additional assessments should help you prepare for your exams, and not create a distraction.”