Science is being "squeezed out" of the primary school curriculum, the Ofsted chief has said, as she attacked governing bodies for failing to hold teachers to account.

Amanda Spielman, Her Majesty's chief inspector, said that undue focus on examinations and schools' league table performances has seen many students sitting weekly tests in English and Maths, while teachers are "forfeiting a deeper education in science and other subjects".

In a speech to the Association for Science Education, Ms Spielman criticised schools that pursued a narrow curriculum and allowed "grades and stickers" to take precedence in the classroom.

"Too few governing bodies look to understand curriculum quality or hold leaders to account for the curriculum beyond looking at test outcomes," she said.

An Ofsted study, published as part of the watchdog's new strategy to conduct its own research into education alongside its main role of school inspection, showed that primary school pupils in particular were at risk of having science lessons culled in favour of early exam preparation.

She said: "In science specifically, the results of our study were not too dissimilar from the picture more generally. In primary, there is a continued narrowing of the curriculum where schools’ understandable desire to ace the English and maths SATs has been squeezing the science curriculum out."