A spokesman for the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, said: “The tests have not yet been developed, but they are likely to feature work that is done on screen. There may also be an element of pencil-and-paper tests where that would be more appropriate.”

The contract for developing the software has gone to an American company, National Computer Systems, based in Minneapolis, which delivers online tests to schools in the United States.

However, doubts have already been raised about electronic tests by the working group set up to advise the Government.

The group said it did not see any advantage to on-screen tests over traditional pencil-and-paper ones.