It's a waiting game that looks like lasting all summer long. After the pre-exam tears and tension, pupils across Lancashire were looking forward to a well-deserved break.

Instead, the black cloud that has become the SATs is still hanging heavy overhead.

Hundreds of schools have been affected by marking problems which have seen papers returned with lower than expected results - and some not returned at all.

Now, many youngsters will not hear how they have fared until September, by which time many will have moved to a new school.

Mother-of-two Jean Stokes, 42, says it's tough on the children who are already facing an unsettling time of moving up to high school.

Her daughter Ellie, 11, has received her maths and science results but still has no idea how she has done in the English exams.

The youngster, a pupil at Queen's Drive Primary School in Fulwood, Preston, will have to wait until the next academic year for the results of her three literacy tests, by which time she'll be a pupil at Archbishop Temple School.

Mrs Stokes, deputy supervisor at Our Lady and St Edward's Pre-school, says: "She took it very seriously. There was a big build-up, lots of practice papers, and we had a few tears when practice papers didn't go as she wanted them to.

"Instructions were sent home to go to bed early. We even took revision booklets on holiday with us.

"It's been tough but the children have all stuck to it.

"A lot of them have been promised nice things if they do well but it's all on hold."

Mrs Stokes, who's married to Jim and lives in Brooklands Avenue, Fulwood, says she would be pleased to see the controversial tests scrapped.

She says: "It's a difficult time for them anyway and for the Government not to have the marking done properly, it's shocking really.

"It does leave you wondering if the results we're getting are reliable. The children are very disappointed."

Mother-of-three Alison Nicholson, 41, has guided her daughter Loran, 11, through several weeks of revision and planning, only to be told she'll have to wait several more weeks for her English result.

The nursing home carer, who is married to John, says: "She's disappointed because she wants to know how she did.

"They were bringing home SAT papers from previous years - every night she had different papers to do.

"They have the teachers saying they have to get to bed early, and eat this, eat that, and the children were really nervous about them and not sleeping at night because they were really scared about doing the exams.

"They finish primary school on Thursday and they won't know what they got at the end of it."

Julie Webster, headteacher at Queen's Drive Primary, says she returned 29 of the 61 English papers to the markers because she felt they were "undermarked" with two levels difference between the marks predicted and those actually received.

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council says: "We have every sympathy with pupils and staff who are still waiting for test results as they have worked hard in preparation for these assessments.

"There isn't very much we can do at this stage, other than give them support in making their individual representations to the organisations involved.

"We will be consulting with colleagues from other Children's Services Authorities to put together our views and suggestions to the Government."