Tube strikes falling during GCSE / A level exams

[CruCru]

To be so irritated at the timing of the tube strikes coming up?

The tube strikes are scheduled for:
March: noon on 24 to noon on 25, noon on 26 to noon on 27
April: noon on 21 to noon on 22, noon on 23 to noon on 24
May: noon on 19 to noon on 20, noon on 21 to noon on 22

My children are not yet doing GCSEs or A levels but I understand that a few exam boards are doing GCSE exams on the mornings of 20 May and 22 May. A level exams run between 11 May and 23 June.

I know that there is probably no brilliant time to have tube strikes but doing them while children are doing GCSEs and A levels seems awful. Lots of children in London rely on the tube to get to school. Even those who get the bus will be affected because getting on a bus during a tube strike is a horrorshow.

We have planned engineering works on our line that hundreds of kids use to get to college. I’m seriously considering booking an Airbnb for a month.

Oh God, that’s awful.

Strikes are not planned to accommodate any groups of people. They are intended to cause disruption and that’s what they’re doing. I hope that anyone affected will have the time to make alternative arrangements to get students to school and college. It’s an added stress that the majority could do without.

Surely the whole point of a strike is to make life difficult for people until the strikers get what they want.

Sounds like they've timed it perfectly to me!

There was a complete bus and tube strike one day when I was doing my A levels (a chemistry paper I think!). I assume the school closed for anyone who didn't need to be there. Some people stayed at the school overnight as average journey into school was quite long. I guess some got lifts? 3 of us started at a friend who lived a walkable distance away - I remember it feeling really weird walking through the very empty streets of central London.

And rail!

Hurrah! Next week’s strikes are cancelled. I really hope that the ones in May are too.

Ah, but they have added 16 and 18 June as strike days. Which also fall within the GCSE and A level exam period.

Yes, this exactly, which is probably why a lot of people struggle to have any sympathy for those striking.
Honestly, I’d be annoyed if it was my child. Exams are stressful enough without adding in disrupted travel to the mix.