Youngsters who fail their exams at the end of primary school will be required to resit them in secondary school, the Conservative Party has outlined.

If re-elected into government, the Tories say that pupils will be compelled to resit their Sats to ensure that they do not fall behind.

This would result in approximately 10,000 11 to 12-year-olds having to retake maths and English tests during the first year of secondary school.

Prime minister David Cameron said that a government with him at the helm would deliver “more rigour” as well as “zero-tolerance of failure and mediocrity” in schools.

“We represent every hardworking mother and father who wants to see their child succeed in a great school,” he added.

“These past five years we have been about getting changes in place which stretch our children – and the results have been extraordinary. The next five will be about finishing the job.”

Malcolm Trobe, deputy general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders union, questioned the relevance of the resit proposal.

He said that many secondary schools, for example, have strategies in place to help those who need extra help get up to speed with their studies.

Speaking to the BBC, education secretary Nicky Morgan said: "We know that the biggest predictor of success at GCSE is whether young people have mastered the basics at age 11.

“That means if we fail to get it right for young people at the start of secondary school they'll struggle for the rest of their time in education."