Plume Academy will be closed to most of its students on Wednesday 1 February as more than 60 teachers are set to go on strike, the Principal has confirmed.

Carl Wakefield, Executive Principal at Plume Academy, told Nub News he took the decision to close "after a great deal of due diligence and risk assessing the situation".

7,000 Essex NEU members could take action in the first of four proposed strikes nationwide.

A picket line will be running in Fambridge Road, Maldon, from 6.30am until 10am. 

However, the school will be open to some students, as Mr Wakefield added: "We will be opening to our Year 13 students who will be in the midst of their Year 13 mock examination programme.

"We have set up an external remote education provision for the day for rest of the students and those students who are on free school meals have the option of securing credit on their electronic accounts the day before or accessing a packed lunch on the day itself."

Mr Wakefield says while he did not wish to close the school to the majority of students, he respects the stance taken by the National Education Union (NEU) regarding fair pay for teachers, "primarily due to not being able to secure constructive talks with the Government despite their best efforts to do so".

Murray Sackwild, Secretary of the NEU's Essex Branch, told Nub News: "We desperately hope to call off this action. We are simply asking for a fully funded, inflation linked pay award - so that we can return to our classrooms and our classrooms can function properly."

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