TOO many exams will stifle entrepreneurial flair, a retiring school head has warned. Barbara Crompton, headmistress of Kent College, Pembury, is stepping down after 12 years at the independent girls' school, a former West Kent Business of the Year.

Miss Crompton said the examination system was not encouraging young people to take risks. It was important for education to offer a balance between academic and extra-curricular activities such as field trips, cultural events and sport.

But the present system of exams - especially AS Levels and A Levels in consecutive years - had upset this balance. "The length of the examination period dominates the summer term and leaves little time for other things," she said.

Young people were taught to "pass through hoops" rather than encouraged to appreciate that there was "a journey" involved. "There will be less entrepreneurship because it's not encouraging young people to take risks which is what the country needs if it is to be successful," said Miss Crompton. "It produces a generation that is anxious not to make mistakes and that can lead to a lack of self-confidence later in life."

Kent College continued to offer a huge extra-curricular programme, she said. "But what is happening is that as education has become more political and more accountable, there has been a drive to focus only on the academic and league tables. We try not to be driven by these but that pressure is there."

It was a good thing that teachers were now more accountable than they were 30 years ago when she entered the profession. But league tables did not compare like with like and put too much pressure on schools and teachers.

Miss Crompton was sad to be leaving. "When I came to Kent College, the school wasn't very well known. Now the reputation of Kent College has gone up and the number of students we are attracting has gone up."