Pupils’ exams disrupted by ‘unforgivable’ Tube strike

A TUBE strike which closed most of the London Underground was described as “unforgivable” for disrupting school exams as students struggled to get into school.

Large parts of the network were out of action yesterday on the first day back after half-term and the four-day bank holiday weekend.

It came as holidaymakers were left stranded across Europe because of widespread flight cancellations, with one family facing a £5,000 race across

Europe in order to make it home in time for their son’s English GCSE exam.

Nickie Aiken, Conservative MP for Cities of London and Westminster, said: “A Tube strike is bad news at any time but during exam time is unforgivable.”

The RMT union called the strike over job losses and concerns that pension entitlements could be watered down by Transport for London (TFL), which is under pressure from the Government to find savings after the pandemic.

An English teacher at a school in London, who asked to remain anonymous, told The Daily Telegraph that she was “furious” about the disruption. “They could have done it during half-term, when students weren’t trying to get in for exams,” she said. “I’m absolutely furious, as a teacher, that they would do this. These kids are stressed enough.”

Robyn Haque, 39, said that the train strike had a “heavy impact” on her 15-year-old daughter, who is in the middle of her GCSE exams.

“This week is probably her busiest week, where she’s got exams most days ... and then we found out the strike was happening,” Ms Haque said.

“I just think, why do it this week? It has an impact not just on the child but the whole household.” The strike came following a week of travel chaos in Europe, which has left British holidaymakers stranded abroad.

Around 225 departures from UK airports were cancelled between Monday and Friday last week, according to Cirium, an aviation data firm.

Mattie Richardson, 45, is stuck in Sardinia with her husband, two children, and members of her extended family, after Easyjet cancelled their flight home to Bristol on Saturday.

Her 15-year-old son, Alfie, has a GCSE English exam on Wednesday that he will probably miss, as they are unable to get home in time. The Richardsons have spent £5,000 on an alternative route back to the UK by plane and train.

“The absolute disrespect of Easyjet towards their customers is something I don’t think I’ll ever recover from,” Mrs Richardson said.

Mick Lynch, RMT general secretary, congratulated its members for taking strike action “in defence of their pensions and jobs”. He said: “We will not rest until we have a just settlement to this dispute and we urge the Mayor to stand up to the Tory government who are cutting funding to TFL.”

Easyjet and TFL have been approached for comment.