Pupils and parents at a secondary school in East London have been staging counter protests after their teachers decided to go on strike during the exam season.
Teachers at Connaught School for Girls have been striking on and off for 12 years, originally over pay and conditions, but parents say it is now unclear what the teachers actually want.
Angela Tranter and Alia Khan who joined their daughters Jasmine and Imaan, who are in Year 10, speak to @susannareid100 and @edballs.
Moan all you like about Gen Z, but some of today’s youngsters put adults to shame. Take the pupils at Connaught School for Girls in Leytonstone, east London.
Tired of their teachers going out on strike yet again, this time during exam season, children and parents have begun mounting their own counter-demonstrations. After years of disruption to their education, they are urging the grown-ups to ‘teach or quit’.
A clip of Friday’s protest has been widely shared on social media. Angry pupils confront teachers who have chosen to spend the day on the picket line, rather than in the classroom.
They are cross about being taught in groups of up to 60 by the headteacher in the school’s assembly hall, while their teachers – subject specialists and heads of department – parade outside.
✍️ Joanna Williams
Article | https://t.co/stItImQgFM
The strikes are OFF.
Turns out when YOUNG WOMEN stop staying quiet, people listen.
But let this be clear: if GCSE students are abandoned again, we come back louder, harder, and bigger.
Our future is not your bargaining chip.
The @NEUnion has supported the demise of OUR girls education, for over a decade. Last week your rep told us they’d strike again and again and again. Since the girls stood up to them. You are as quiet as a mouse. We urge @educationgovuk to make sure. NEVER AGAIN.
"Credit to those young women”
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson responds to a video of teenagers counter-protesting their striking teachers and also says a NEU ballot for strike action is “premature”
#BBCLauraK https://t.co/CkTHGctZ4k
No homework set.
No homework marked.
No engagement beyond the bare minimum.
And a strike every year on top of it.
These are girls heading into GCSEs.
This is not acceptable.
#StandWithOurGirls#WalthamForest