Despite teachers’ fears, there appeared to be less middle-class bias in the Sats reading paper this year, which included a story about a park being closed to the public so flats could be built on it.

The DfE has today published the Sats papers taken by 600,000 Year 6 pupils earlier this month, which reveal the reading paper also included a comprehension about bumblebees and an adventure story set in a different world about a girl who earns money by finding things and selling them.

Headteacher Chris Dyson, of Parklands Primary, in Seacroft, Leeds, where 50 per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals, said that there didn’t appear to be a middle-class bias.

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He said: “It was a nice story about the park being closed. There are parks in Seacroft, of course, so it was something that kids could relate to.”

The Sats reading paper has been criticised for being too middle-class in previous years. In 2016, teachers were particularly concerned about a paper that reduced some pupils to tears. It included an extract called The Lost Queen, which described two children sneaking away during a garden party at the ancestral home of a girl whose family once married into royalty.

They explore the grounds of this “big house”, which has its own lake, island and secret marble monument. 

Another middle-class adventure had been predicted this year by Tes columnist and deputy headteacher Aidan Severs, who said: “Rowing a boat to an island - done. Mysterious discovery in a dilapidated farmhouse - check. Perhaps a portal will open up in Waitrose? Or a picnic of brioche and hummus with lashings of ginger ale will turn into an adventure with smugglers?”    

North Yorkshire head teacher Simon Smith, from East Whitby Primary academy, where 40 per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals, said there was “much less” middle-class bias this year.

But he said the reading paper still favoured children who had more “cultural capital” or life experience, who tended to have more discussions with their parents about issues.

He criticised the use of punning in the passage about bumblebees, which included a sub-heading of “Don’t ‘bee’ confused”.

He said: “I know a lot of children in our school might not get that because they’re not used to playing with language.”

He also said the word “indignant” in the adventure story was difficult, and that words such as “angry” or “grumpy” would have been more commonly used in the everyday life of his school.

He said: “I’ve no big issues with any of the papers, but with the reading paper, I’m not sure it tests reading in the way they want it to, as much as it tests knowledge and vocab.”

Tes has also revealed the “horrible” maths question in this year’s maths paper that had pupils in tears and even baffled headteachers. 

The DfE has been contacted for comment.