Children should be told that extra devotions are "voluntary" whereas "exams are obligatory" and advised not to stay up “all night praying” to avoid being too tired, according to advice published by the Associations of School and College Leaders (ASCL).

The advice followed fears that Muslim students may be suffering from dehydration or hunger when they take crucial exams this summer as it overlaps with Ramadan, when Muslims fast during daylight hours.

Ramadan has been gradually moving into the summer exams season in England - which runs from the end of May and throughout most of June - over the last few years and will do so for the next few years.

This year the period when Muslims observe fasting will fall between June 6 and July 5, which coincides when many of the summer exams take place for the first time in more than three decades.

In light of this shift, ASCL, together with Islamic scholars, imams and chaplains has published unprecedented advice where the health of children is placed above religious considerations during the exam season.