To satisfy examiners that a request for a scribe is valid, a candidate must either have a physical disability, a sudden injury or be assessed by a qualified psychologist or specialist teacher. Students are eligible for a scribe if they can prove they cannot write more than 10 words a minute.

The requests occur primarily in subjects which required detailed writing, such as English, history and citizenship. In Scotland, examiners have called for handwriting classes to be reintroduced because so many pupils cannot write longhand.

Experts say speed is not the only factor. More scripts than ever are illegible because the email and text generation are unable to write properly by hand. Examination centers are also considering the use of word processors in more cases – especially for those candidates with known handwriting difficulties.

The situation is not unusual when, as now, major technological changes have disrupted the usual patterns. It may well be that in a few years, students will be allowed to dispense with handwriting and do all their writing on devices such as computers. With Dragon-type speech input, they may not even have to type. All they need do is talk into a microphone and the software will be the rest.

On the other hand, it seems foolish to lose any skill --especially when it is so easy to teach. With proper instruction in the early grades, effective handwriting can be taught --and maintained for life. Unfortunately, under the "drill is kill" mantra, handwriting training was deemed to be tedious and it was discarded. Perhaps the rise of problems such as those noted in The Independent will lead schools to restore --what can so easily be restored.