I TOTALLY agree that our children are being pushed to rise academically so early.

My daughter is seven years old and, last year, when at her KS1 SAT tests, she was six years old and I had tears as she was making herself ill with worry because of the pressure to perform.

You may wonder where this pressure came from. Well, it was not from her teacher. She is a caring teacher who, time and time again, told them to "just do your best", and her dad and I told her the same and that we would be proud of her no matter what she got. The pressure comes from the children themselves.

They know what is expected from them, so they worry about "not being good enough".

Why are we pressuring children? Don't they grow up fast enough anyway?

What happened to art, drama, gymnastics, and more things for children who are not academically fast?

Karen Finnigan

Smithills Croft Road

Bolton