The mind blowing figure was released this week by an independent regulatory body for education in a bid to reduce the number of tests the country's youngsters must endure.

Britain has the most scrutinised children in the world and in Bucks the situation is magnified by the 11 plus which assesses a child's suitability to either a grammar or upper school education.

The county's Liberal Democrats have released a statement calling for the assessment to be scrapped for being 'biased and unfair'.

They say there is evidence the test is aimed at the more affluent, and the population of Aylesbury's grammar schools is not reflective of the population of the town.

Niknam Hussain, Lib Dem spokesman on child services said the current Conservative administration at Bucks County Council was ignoring evidence that the 11 plus is unfair.

He said: "The council has said that the test was 'fair' even though it has a mountain of evidence to show that it is not. In other words if your background or where you live can account for your child passing or failing, what does the 11 plus prove?

"Isn't it time Buckinghamshire County Council ensured that the education of every child in Buckinghamshire matters?"

Cllr Hussain believes the decision to keep grammar schools in the county should be put to a special vote.

"It has come to something when the Conservatives openly admit that the selective system as practiced in Buckinghamshire is flawed and will never be introduced nationally.

"This begs the questions as to why Buckinghamshire Conservatives are sticking to this unfair system that in the words of their own leader David Cameron belongs in the past. We as Liberal Democrats have long maintained that the decision on whether to keep grammar schools in Bucks is one that only the people of the county should make, in a special vote.

"However, the question has to be asked whether the people of Bucks are being told all they should be about the failures of the current method of education here, so that they have a proper view of its cost. Yet again, the Tories are not being open as well as being unfair," he added.

Yet Cllr Marion Clayton, BCC cabinet member for achievement and learning, said the county's GCSE results every year prove the Liberal Democrats are wrong.

"This is not much more than I expect from the Liberal Democrats and the only thing I can say is that if you look at the results in Bucks for GCSEs every year they are ten per cent above the national average.
"That says to me that the selective education process works here. It may not work for every other authority but it works for Buckinghamshire and these results prove it.

"We also need to remember the fact that while it's expected grammar schools will achieve about 99 to 100 per cent of the statutory five A to C passes, it's the upper schools results which boost the county's results. I have to persuade people that upper school children don't get a second-rate education, they jolly well don't because it's those children who push our success rate up."

John Bercow, MP, said he will also continue to support the county's grammar schools.

"What really matters in a school is the leadership of the head, the quality and style of classroom teaching, the pedagogical methods employed, the disciplinary and pastoral regime and the effort made to expose children to new academic, vocational or sporting and cultural opportunities.

"These factors are critical whether the admissions procedure is selective or comprehensive. For my part, I would welcome more setting and streaming in every secondary school and the establishment of more academies providing effectively for children of all abilities and aptitudes.

Cllr Clayton said that despite suggestions British children were examined too much, she believes there is currently no better alternative.

"The 11 plus is somewhat different from SATS for a start and I feel the whole issue of children being over-tested was completely misrepresented in the media this week. For a start they used images of an examination room at a secondary school which is completely different to SAT tests at primary level.

"Children are tested a lot but there has to be means of determining a child's progress. I'm not saying exams are always the answer, maybe there is a better process," she added.

As Aylesbury Vale prepares to grow over the next 20 years, school provision is a primary concern for the county council and members are already considering how best to extend the council's services.

Chris Munday, BCC divisional director of commissioning and business improvement said: "We are actively monitoring and working with a range of colleagues to ensure a sufficiency of school places. We also need to incorporate nursery places, primary and special school provision as well as grammars and uppers There are a series of formulae that we use to calculate the pressure on school places from new developments and we use a number of statistics to interpret growth."

Cllr Clayton added the county council will have a better understanding of how many extra school spaces and facilities will be needed after results are back from the housing consultation process.