Harry Potter's magic spell over the North's young readers is in danger of being broken by another series of bestsellers for kids. Not many of the region's youngsters will be begging their mums and dads to read these books to them at bedtime, though, as the studies they're all about are a long way from what's on offer at Hogwarts. The bestsellers currently outselling the young wizard's exploits at many bookshops are, in fact, study guides for kids aged 11 and 14 about to take the Department for Education and Skills' controversial Standard Assessment Tests. Panic-stricken parents are clearing the shelves of revision papers for the tests, known as SATs for short. Department store chain WH Smith says its Newcastle and Durham branches have sold out of the guides and its other outlets across the region are reporting a "rush in sales". WH Smith spokeswoman Keirstan Rayneard said: "Our SATs guides are flying out of our stores at the moment, with sales up 100 per cent between March and April this year." Bookshop chain Waterstone's is also doing a brisk trade in the study aids. Waterstone's spokesman Gareth Hardy said: "This year there has been a large rise in the number of SATs books we have sold across our stores in the North." And it's not just the big chain stores reporting sales of hot cake-like proportions. Tim Wallace, of Appleby's bookshop in Morpeth, Northumberland, said: "We are definitely selling more of these guides than we are of Harry Potter. "At one time only the highly educated few bought these books for their children, but now everyone is buying them because they realise how important education is. "We get a big run on these books at this time of year." The huge sales jump comes as the National Union of Teachers is threatening to boycott the tests, claiming they can harm children's mental health and put too much pressure on school staff. A union spokeswoman said: "This illustrates the pressure put on even young children by these tests, which provide no useful information to either teachers or parents." The revision books are produced by Letts. Its marketing director, Peter Stafford, said the SAT aids are now the firm's second most popular line. He added: "The ongoing debate about SATs has made parents more aware of the need to help their children succeed at school. "They know how important these exams are." TESTING TIMES - Page 14 | 
