THOUSANDS of parents across the region are set to pull their kids out of school in protest at controversial SATs tests which are making pupils' lives a misery.

Parents at schools across the North-East and North Yorkshire are joining a national protest on today to draw attention to this year's exams which have led to chaos in the classrooms.

Can you answer these test questions taken from the Government website? 

The Key Stage One SATs, which test six and seven-year-olds in Year 2 and Key Stage 2 maths and English SATs, which test ten and 11-year-olds in Year 6, are part of a new curriculum which the Department for Education (DfE) says will raise standards.

But angry parents and teachers say the tests are “setting up children to fail” as they are age inappropriate and the majority of children don't stand a chance of passing.

More than 63,000 parents have signed a petition calling on the Government to scrap the exams.

And the parent-led Let Our Kids be Kids campaign, is urging people to take their children out of school on May 3 - despite the threat of fines.

The campaign was set up by a group of parents who said they had had “enough of endless testing, enough of teachers not being trusted to teach, enough of an Ofsted driven, dull, dry curriculum aimed solely at passing SATs”.

The controversial tests have already left the Government red-faced after it was forced to cancel a new spelling and grammar test after it was accidentally put online by officials in January.

Jenny Veitch, a parent governor from Gilling West, near Richmond, North Yorkshire, is joining the protest.

“It’s just relentless testing," she said. "You can’t make kids more intelligent by making them sit ludicrously hard tests. We feel they were setting up our children and schools to fail.”

Parent Joanne Weston, from Darlington, has also vowed to keep her seven-year-old daughter Evie and her five-year-old son Jack off school on Tuesday.

“My daughter is currently in Year 2 and facing the unnecessary, relentless testing," she said. "Evie loves to learn, is inquisitive and extremely creative, however, over these last few months she has started to tell me she is “rubbish” at maths. Her spark and love of learning is diminishing before our eyes. Homework is fast becoming a weekend nightmare for all the family.

“All of this breaks my heart and it needs to stop. My son will face this ridiculous testing next year. As a parent I feel it is my duty to fight for an education that embraces the joy of learning, encourages creativity, confidence and develops social skills.”

Joanne has organised a day of educational activities at Brafferton Village Hall for the day of the protest, where there will be interactive storytelling, craft activities and a woodland walk.

Parents who take their children out of school could face stiff fines but head teachers have discretionary powers to authorise pupil absences in exceptional circumstances.

Some North-East schools have already offered parents tacit support by making it plain they will take no action - and local authorities said last night the decision was down to them.

Jeremy Gargan, headteacher at Aycliffe Village Primary School near Darlington, recently resigned in protest at the Government’s education reforms.

Mr Gargan, who is currently working his notice at the primary school said: “I understand where the parents are coming from with this, but I don’t feel that taking a day off school will help anything.”

The Department for Education said parents should speak to schools if children felt overly stressed by SATs.

A spokesperson said: “We know mastering the basics of literacy and numeracy at primary school has a huge impact on how well children do at GCSE, which is why we are determined to raise standards.

“We have updated the Key Stage 2 tests to reflect our new, more rigorous curriculum which will help every child fulfil their potential regardless of their circumstances.”