SCORES of schools across York and North Yorkshire were closed or disrupted on Tuesday as up to 2,500 teachers staged a strike over funding.

The National Union of Teachers claimed its industrial action had won support from parents’ groups, and would not rule out further industrial action in the autumn - unless the Government returned to the negotiating table.

Anne Swift, a former Scarborough head teacher who is now the union’s national president, said about 600-650 members in the City of York Council area and about 2,000 in North Yorkshire County Council’s territory were asked by the union to take part in the one-day strike.

Some schools such as Bishopthorpe Infant School were shut, some closed some classes and others opened as normal.

Ms Swift said the impact on individual schools varied, largely because of differences in the numbers of NUT members amongst their teaching staff.

She said some teachers went up to Durham to take part in one of a number of regional marches and rallies across the country in support of the action.

More than 90 per cent of those who voted opted in favour of a strike, but on a turnout of only 24 per cent.

Ms Swift said the union wanted to introduce electronic balloting in order to increase participation but claimed the Government had not allowed this so far for ‘political reasons’, so it could point to low turnout.

She claimed funding was being cut, leading to increased workloads for teachers, bigger class sizes and cuts in staffing, which would be particularly noticeable when children returned to school after the summer holidays.

Acting general secretary Kevin Courtney said: “This has been a very well supported strike both by NUT members and the general public.

"We thank all those parents who have supported us despite the inconvenience it may have caused.”

But Schools minister Nick Gibb told the Commons the action was ‘pointless’ but also disrupted children’s education, caused inconvenience to parents and damaged the profession’s reputation.

He added: “Because of the dedication of the vast majority of teachers and head teachers, our analysis shows that seven out of eight schools are refusing to close.

“Our school workforce is, and must remain, a respected profession suitable for the 21st century, but this action is seeking to take the profession back, in public perception, to the tired and dated disputes of the 20th century.”