Classes close as teachers strike for two days

Teachers at one of Cornwall's largest secondary schools said they will go on strike on Wednesday and Thursday.

In a letter to parents, Newquay Tretherras School headteacher Gemma Harries said Years 9 and 10 would be closed for the two days.

She said some teachers "have concerns about cuts to school budgets" which "replicate concerns nationally" and "are not specific to Newquay Tretherras School alone".

A spokesperson for the National Education Union (NEU) said the teachers have planned to strike "to demand that the school abides by the terms and conditions set out in their contract and to provide a safe workplace".

"This is not a funding issue but a contractual one," they added.

A spokesperson for the school said continuing negotiations with the union had resulted in "positive outcomes and progress on reaching agreements in principle".

"However, due to an unfortunate delay in timelines for these discussions, some industrial action will now commence," they added.

The NEU spokesperson said "progress has been made" but the majority of teachers surveyed at the weekend felt it was "not sufficient to suspend their action".

"We ask that the trust make further progress towards meeting our members' reasonable demands," the added.

Ms Harries said there were further strikes planned for 5, 6 and 7 March but the school trust was "hoping to find further resolutions over the next few days".

In Ms Harries' letter she told parent 69% of the teachers at the school were union members, which she said equated to 55 out of a possible 217 staff.

However, the NEU spokesperson said of the 217 members of staff at Newquay Tretherras, 117 were teachers and 66% of them were union members.

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