Teachers' strike to close hundreds of London schools

Hundreds of thousands of London children will be forced to miss school tomorrow because of the first national teachers' strike in a generation.

At least 526 schools - one in five - will be closed, according to an Evening Standard survey of London councils, while a further 406 will be forced to cancel lessons and ask some pupils to stay at home as the National Union of Teachers stages a walk-out over pay.

The NUT has ignored calls by ministers and town hall chiefs not to disrupt pupils' education, particularly those who are preparing to sit GCSEs and A-levels.

Schools minister Jim Knight said: "I am very disappointed about the expected strike but that is nothing compared to the disappointment of parents, whose children's lessons will be disrupted."

Parents will face problems arranging childcare. In Islington and Hounslow alone, about 34,000 children have been asked not to attend school.

The total number of closures is likely to be higher than 526, as six of London's 32 boroughs could not provide information ahead of the strike. Tim Harrison, the NUT's London secretary, said: "Experience tells us that when salaries decline, there will be teacher shortages which will have a far greater impact in the long term than any action we take to draw this disgraceful proposed decline in teachers' salaries to the attention of the public."

The full impact of the strike will be difficult to gauge because the NUT's membership numbers vary from school to school, as well as borough to borough.

Although a majority of those who voted in the ballot were in favour of a strike, most of the union's rank and file did not take part and some may not join colleagues on the picket lines.

Some authorities said they would not know how badly their schools would be affected until tomorrow's school day begins. Westminster, for example, said it expected "most will be closed". Other authorities warned that most of their schools would be hit by the stoppage, whether or not they were completely closed.

Lewisham, with 46 fully and 27 partially closed schools, and Waltham Forest, with 42 fully and 18 partially shut, looked likely to be the worst affected boroughs.

The NUT is staging its first national strike since 1987 because it believes the Government's offer of a 2.45 per cent pay increase fails to keep teachers' wages abreast of inflation, with cost of living increases particularly acute in the capital.

But opponents of the strike say teachers are getting a better deal than other public services, including the police, and do not enjoy wider public support.

Many of London's sixth form and further education colleges will also be forced to cancel lectures, as members of the University and College Union are also staging a walk-out over pay.

The National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations said a national survey it conducted showed most parents supported the NUT's strike action.