Thousands of pupils across the country, including many in Sunderland, are still waiting for the results of their Sats tests in English, maths and science.

The Echo reported how more than a third of the city's primary schools had suffered delays in results or had papers incorrectly marked, and headteachers are furious about the fiasco.

The results should have been published more than a week ago by ETS, the U.S. company with the five-year £165million contract to deliver them.

But many children have now broken up from school still not knowing what their results are.

Several parents told the Echo they feel after all the hard work the children put into the exams it is disgraceful to keep them hanging on.

Angela Foster, who has a son in Year 6 at St Anne's RC Primary School in Hylton Road said they feel lucky their school wasn't affected.

She said: "Our kids got their results last week, which was great. But, it is such a shame for the other children who have all put so much work into their exams.

"There is too much pressure on them with these exams. They are under a lot of stress when they sit them and then not to get the results is a real shame. I would have been angry if it was mine."

Truck driver Stuart McAnaney, who lives in South Hylton, has two sons, James, 11 and nine-year-old Matthew, at St Anne's RC Primary School.

He said: "I think it is absolutely disgraceful that this has happened.

"When James was sitting his Sats he was in a terrible state because he was so stressed. I think they should be scrapped altogether."

Dad-of-four, Peter Batty, of Palgrove Square, said Sats exams should be scrapped because there is enough time for testing children when they get to senior school.

The 29-year-old said: "Primary school should be about fun and enjoying their childhood, not putting kids under stress.

"They shouldn't be sitting exams until senior school."

Tom Walker, headteacher at Burnside Primary School in Houghton, asked Wearside colleagues to contact him with their Sats problems and he received about 30 emails and phone calls.

He said: "There is a catalogue of problems.

"Many schools are missing results and papers, some have children missed off lists and others marked as absent who were not. We have no confidence the papers have been marked properly."

"One school in Sunderland has found out some of their English papers are in Leeds."