Nottingham Girls' High: Staff at private school on strike

Staff at Nottingham Girl's High School are unhappy about changes to their pension

Staff at a private girls' school in Nottingham have gone on strike in a dispute over pensions.

Teachers at Nottingham Girls' High School, a selective school for pupils aged four to 18, said they were being asked to accept cuts to their pensions.

The National Education Union (NEU), which represents many staff, said the strike was the first in the history of the trust which runs the school.

The Girls' Day School Trust (GDST) said the proposals were necessary.

'Unprecedented'

The NEU said teachers at all 23 of the trust's schools were in dispute, with staff expected to lose about 20% of the value of their pensions.

MP for Nottingham East Nadia Whittome is expected to support a picket at the school gates.

The NEU said it had notified the trust there would be further strikes.

School staff say they could lose about 20% of the value of their pensions

Nick Raine, the union's senior regional officer, said: "Teachers at [the school] work incredibly hard.

"They have been badly let down by the GDST who have decided to brutally 'fire and re-hire' them to force through significant cuts to teachers' pensions.

"Not only is this unfair and unprecedented, it has damaged the trust's reputation.

"We have been delighted with messages of support from parents, the community and local representatives."

The GDST, whose members include Putney High School and Oxford High School, said it had seen a 43% increase in its contributions to the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS) since 2019.

It has proposed teachers leave the TPS and join an alternative flexible pension scheme with a 20% employer contribution "alongside other benefits".

The trust said the new plan would "provide greater scope for a total reward package, including pay".

Cheryl Giovannoni, CEO of the trust, said: "Sadly, the increase to the TPS employer costs has had a severe impact on our expenditure and has put us in a very difficult position.

"We understand the strength of feeling amongst our teachers over this issue and of course the concerns raised by our parents.

"We care deeply about our teachers and would not have put forward these proposals unless we felt they were absolutely necessary to support the long-term sustainability of the GDST family of schools."

Other independent schools under the trust are:

• Blackheath High School, London

• Brighton Girls, Brighton

• Bromley High School, London

• Croydon High School, London

• Howell's School, Llandaff, Cardiff

• Kensington Prep School, London

• Newcastle High School for Girls, Newcastle

• Northampton High School, Northampton

• Northwood College for Girls, London

• Norwich High School for Girls, Norwich

• Notting Hill & Ealing High School, London

• Portsmouth High School, Portsmouth

• Royal High School Bath, Bath

• Sheffield Girls, Sheffield

• Shrewsbury High School, Shrewsbury

• South Hampstead High School, London

• Streatham & Clapham High School, London

• Sutton High School, London

• Sydenham High School, London

• Wimbledon High School, London

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