Award-winning children's author Philip Pullman has attacked the government's "brutal" school testing system, warning that it is creating a generation of children who hate reading and "feel nothing but hostility for literature".

Writing in the Guardian, Pullman, a former teacher, says that the tests makes children's writing "empty, conventional and worthless".

A spokeswoman for the Department for Education and Skills told ePolitix.com: "Without tests at seven,11 and 14 it is impossible to see how well a child is doing. Testing isn't the be all and end all of school, but it is an important tool in our continued drive to raise standards."

Phil Willis, education spokesman, said: "Liberal Democrats want to see a radical reduction in testing.

"Education is not simply about filling empty vessels and measuring what's inside. The emphasis has to be less on targets and testing and more on trusting qualified teachers to deliver an attractive curriculum.

"Of course we must demand high standards and strive for ever greater levels of achievement from our young people. But Labour's meaningless testing regimes and divisive league tables put students, teachers and parents under unnecessary stress."

Damian Green, shadow education secretary, told ePolitix.com: "Tests are useful in schools but shouldn't dominate a child's education. Imparting a love of reading is one of the most useful and creative things a teacher can do for any child."

Forum Response: Association of Teachers and Lecturers

Gwen Evans, ATL's deputy general secretary, told ePolitix.com: "It's time for the government to have the courage to undertake a serious rethink about their undue reliance on simple measures like exam results.

"Pupils who are being endlessly tested are losing good learning time. However efficient our current system is, it now needs a radical overhaul to put learning at the heart of education."

Forum Response: National Union of Teachers

John Bangs, head of education at the NUT, said: "Philip Pullman is merely echoing what every teacher has told us. The testing regime is forcing teachers into teaching for the tests rather than educating children."