by political editor Paul Francis

Pupils who sit the 11-plus are placed under such pressure that the system verges on being cruel and could be described as child abuse, according to the head teacher of one of Kent’s leading secondary schools.

Phil Karnavas, the principal of Canterbury High School, one of the county’s best performing non-selective schools, made a forthright denunciation of the system in an article for The Observer.

He said a test was not needed and that the 11-plus was a major reason why results in national tests in Kent were below the national average.

He said: "Putting children through this examination is verging on the cruel. I am surprised that no-one has taken selective authorities to tribunal for child abuse given the unnecessary strain and stress that it causes."

He said there was "sufficient evidence" Year Six schooling was "seriously and detrimentally affected by the Kent test” and becoming worse because the test was now sat in September, much earlier than it used to be.

Pupils who did not take the test were made to feel like "second class citizens".

He added: "Once the test is taken, the rest of Year Six is a bit of a waste of time…it could be argued the rest of the year is basically twiddling your thumbs."

Parents who believed grammar schools were better were putting an incredible strain on children and the process was ridiculously expensive for those who sought out private tutors.

His comments come after another Kent head also criticised the selective system. Vanessa Everett, head of Mascalls School, said absence rates in primary schools were high because parents were increasingly taking children out of school for holidays once they had sat the exam in early September.

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