Two Lancashire schools have closed and staff have taken to the picket lines in protest over plans to convert schools into academies.
The strike action started on Monday (September 21) and schools remain closed today (Tuesday, September 22).
Teachers and support staff at Corpus Christi Catholic High School in Fulwood and Cardinal Allen Catholic High School in Fleetwood are taking part in the industrial action.
The dispute follows a policy for Catholic schools across the Diocese of Lancaster to convert to academy status and join multi-academy trusts (MATs).
The Diocese of Lancaster said it hopes the schools "reconsider their position".
Staff say they are not opposed to Catholic education but are concerned about losing local control and the potential educational and financial impact of the conversion.
Corpus Christi was rated 'outstanding' in every area by Ofsted in July 2025 and recently recorded its best-ever GCSE results.
John Hankin, headteacher, said: "Parents and carers were informed in advance that members of the National Education Union (NEU) and of NASUWT were taking part in industrial action.
"Our school will be closed to all pupils on Monday 21st and Tuesday 22nd of September and will open again to all pupils on Wednesday, September 23."
NEU representatives at Corpus Christi said: "Governors have raised legitimate questions with the diocese about the impact and suitability of academisation for their school.
"Rather than addressing those concerns through meaningful dialogue, the diocese removed the chair of governors and has subsequently chosen not to renew the terms of office of several governors who would not support the academy conversion.
"Many of these governors have given decades of commitment, experience and service to Catholic education and the communities we serve.
"Academisation would mean further decision-making being removed from the local governing body, headteacher and staff and transferred to a central MAT structure.
"At the same time, we are being asked to accept a significant proportion of the school’s budget being diverted away from the school itself.
"Staff are entitled to ask how any of this will improve the education our pupils receive."
At Cardinal Allen, staff say the school previously explored academy status but decided against it due to financial concerns and the potential loss of teaching posts.
NEU representatives estimate that the cost of joining a MAT could equate to around five teaching positions.
Lancashire NEU secretary Ian Watkinson said: "Nobody takes strike action in a school lightly.
"Our members care passionately about their pupils, their schools and the Catholic communities they serve.
"These are successful schools, so there is a very simple question for the Bishop and the Diocese: what educational problem is forced academisation supposed to solve?"
Picket lines are in place at both schools, with a joint demonstration planned outside Lancaster Cathedral at 10am on Tuesday, September 22.
A spokesman for the Diocese of Lancaster said: “It is of regret to the Diocese that the members of two teaching unions have decided to take strike action.
“Our sympathy lies first and foremost with pupils who will lose two days of education and for parents who will be inconvenienced by this action, which we consider to be unnecessary.
“It is our belief that academy trusts will guarantee high-quality Catholic education throughout the Diocese. We know this to be true from experience because the majority of our schools in this area have already joined their Trust family and are flourishing.
“We are conscious that some unions are opposed to the creation of academies in principle, whether forced or voluntary. Nevertheless, the conversion of schools into academies is both the policy of the Government and that of the Diocese of Lancaster.
“We sincerely hope that staff will reconsider their position.”
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