Teachers strike over academy conversion plans at Catholic schools

Summarised from 5 outlets · 7 reports · Updated 23 Sept, 22:39 · Archive

Staff at Catholic schools in Lancashire and Merseyside have struck over plans to convert them into academies.

Teachers at multiple Catholic schools, including Corpus Christi Catholic High in Preston and Cardinal Allen High in Fleetwood, have closed schools and taken to picket lines in protest at academy conversion plans. Unions claim the conversion could cut one school's budget by £400,000, while the Catholic Church says its existing academies are 'flourishing'.

How it is being reported

• Teacher defends Preston school strike over academy plans as pupils join picket lineStaff are appealing to church bosses 'in the spirit of Catholicism'LancsLive · 23 Sept, 06:00
• Teachers at Cardinal Allen High in Fleetwood strike over plans to turn Catholic school into academy“Nobody working in education takes strike action lightly.”Blackpool Gazette · 22 Sept, 16:02
• 'Academy plan' strike shuts schools for second dayStaff at a Catholic school in Preston speak out over their fears about joining an academy trust.BBC Lancashire · 22 Sept, 14:20
• 2 Lancashire schools close as staff strike against 'forced academy conversion'Two Lancashire schools have closed and staff have taken to the picket lines in protest over plans to convert schools into academies.Lancashire Telegraph · 22 Sept, 10:52
• More schools shut for strikes over Catholic academy plansSchools in Lancashire and Merseyside will strike this week over Catholic academy plans.BBC Lancashire · 21 Sept, 16:40
• 'We're fighting to save our school as we know it': anti-academy strike forces closure of Preston's Corpus Christi Catholic HighUnions claim academy conversion could cut the school’s budget by £400,000, but the Catholic Church says its existing academies are “flourishing”.Chorley Guardian · 21 Sept, 15:23
• 'We don't trust the trust' - Teachers strike over academy plans at Lancashire schoolA teacher at a Preston secondary school says the high standards for which it has been recognised risk being unravelled by plans to turn it into an academy – and that staff are fighting “to save our school community as we know it”.Lancashire Telegraph · 21 Sept, 15:23

In this story: Corpus Christi Catholic High · Cardinal Allen High · Preston · Fleetwood · Lancashire · Merseyside · Catholic Church

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log