Football antidote to exam fever

Or just get out and kick a ball around...

Students torn between watching England's first Euro 2000 match and doing last-minute revision for their exams were given official blessing to take the evening off.

A Department for Education and Employment spokesman said: "Our advice would be to plan your work so you have time to watch the big games.

"It would be a shame if children felt they could not watch any game at all."

GCSEs and A-levels continue throughout June.

England are playing Portugal in Eindhoven on Monday night and will be in contention at least until 20 June, when they will know whether they are going into the knockout phase - which could take them to 2 July.

Margaret Morrissey, of the National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations, said it would be silly to tell them not to watch the match.

"What they don't know by now is not going to make lot of difference," she said.

Olive Forsyth, spokeswoman for the National Union of Teachers, agreed.

"It's only two hours. The work done over two years can't be changed in that time," she said.

"Because exams are so emotionally draining, watching the England match the night before could be almost cathartic."

Or maybe not...

But Lord Skidelsky, a former government curriculum adviser and chairman of the Social Market Foundation, said it was for students and their parents to decide.

"It all depends on the confidence of the student. We all miss things we want to do because of something we have to do."

And Nick Seaton, chairman of the traditionalist Campaign for Real Education, said children should keep their heads down and not watch the match.

"Things do clash at exam time and students have got to accept it and get on with it," he said.

"They should video the game and watch it at their leisure."