Children are feeling increasingly "stressed out" by exams as many now have to take at least 75 tests during their school careers, according to research published today.

Panic attacks, eating disorders and sleeplessness are some of the symptoms of examophobia uncovered in a survey by teaching unions and the Children's Society.

But while more than half of girls get exam stress, less than 50 per cent of boys say they get the same fear, initial analysis of the findings suggest.

Exams are a £150m a year drain on resources, averaging out at £35,000 per secondary school, said Geoffrey Carver, vice chairman of the Professional Association of Teachers (PAT).

A child who starts school at four and leaves after A-levels at 18 will do a minimum of 75 public exams and that number is set to grow with the expansion of AS Levels, he added.

PAT and the Secondary Heads Association (SHA) said the survey was the largest of its kind ever conducted, with 8,000 responses from children aged 11 to 18.

SHA president Margaret Griffin called for the reintroduction of coursework at GCSE and A-level. It gave children who did not have the self-confidence and ability of high flyers more of a chance to "prove their prowess".

More testing was to come with the latest curriculum revisions, and there was a danger that children could be turned off education in greater numbers, leaving school at the first opportunity, she said.

"School is about teaching and learning - we don't need to make it as uncomfortable as possible for them," she said.

Geraldine Everett, PAT vice chairman and a counsellor who said she dealt with many exam-stressed youngsters, added: "There is a huge tranche of children who are really under pressure." A series of exam-related blows to their self-esteem could lead to difficulties with relationships later in life.

Sue Sayles, vice-president of the National Association of Head Teachers and also a head teacher at Riccall Primary School in North Yorkshire, said that her school attempted to keep testing within normal classroom situations to avoid exam-related stress.

But, she said, many primary schools did opt for extra formal testing on top of the statutory assessments at seven and 11. "You could actually have children being tested every single year of their school life and I'm not terribly sure that it's very helpful," she said.

"I don't think that it gives any information in the long term that cannot be picked up in the classroom by teachers."

The Department for Education and Employment insisted it was normal for children to feel a bit nervous before a test.

A survey by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority found that 97 per cent of teachers believed 14-year-olds suffered little or no stress doing this year's national tests, said a spokesman .

On the pressures facing GCSE and A-level students, he added: "Exams are a long-established feature of school life."

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