School inspectors say that the annual exams for children about to leave primary school should go ahead this year, despite the coronavirus crisis, otherwise it will be impossible to judge the impact of coronavirus on standards.

Chief inspector Alida Oppers told the AD on Friday that the results will be lower than in previous years but that this is not a reason not to press ahead with them. ‘The results will show us where the shortcomings are and what can be done, possibly before the summer holidays,’ she said.

The exams were scrapped last year because of the pandemic, and children have been taught at home again since mid December.

The exams at the end of year 8 are used to help teachers decide what sort of stream children should go to in secondary school.

Last year, more children were allocated to less academic streams, particularly those from more disadvantaged backgrounds, education minister Arie Slob told MPs in December.