Rail strikes force students back to online learning as schools scramble minibuses to shuttle pupils to GCSE and A-level exams

• e-mail

Schools are offering pupils in non-exam years remote lessons if they cannot get in today, as Mick Lynch's mass strikes sow mayhem for millions of students.

The biggest rail strikes in generation are causing misery for pupils across Britain sitting GCSEs and A-levels exams this week, as well as commuters trying to get to work and patients attending vital health appointments.

Some schools in London are scrambling their coaches to get pupils to class, and are offering students in non-exam years online learning if they cannot get in.

But for many teenagers, this is the first year they have sat a high-stakes public exam in two years after they were repeatedly cancelled during the Covid lockdown - and they are taking every precaution to make sure they don't miss the crucial tests.

One pupil at the City of London School for Girls has been forced to make a four-and-a-half-hour journey to make her maths A-level today, while others have had to book Travelodges or stay with friends due to the 'double whammy' of train and Tube strikes.

A mother has described cancelling her business appointments to take her sons to their exams. Marta Kotlarek, 40, must clear her diary to take her youngest son, Jacob, 16, on a 60-mile round trip for his additional maths GCSE today. She must then repeat the journey from Flint to Ysgol Eirias in North Wales for Michael, 18, who sits his A Level maths exam on Thursday. They usually take a 20-minute train to school.

And the father of an 18-year-old sitting his final A-level on Thursday revealed he will be late to work so he can drive his son the 25 miles to school, setting out at around 6am to make sure he arrives on time.

Headteacher Jenny Brown told Sky News: 'We've had to do a lot of thinking about how we look after those pupils, contingency arrangements. Some - where possible - are staying with local friends. And for those who have long journeys it's required a lot of careful thought. 

A deserted Waterloo Station in London this morning on the first day of Mick Lynch's mass strikes 

Traffic queues on the A102M Blackwall Tunnel approach in Greenwich this morning 

Commuters on Shaftsbury Avenue in London queue for buses today, the first day of nation-wide rail strikes

'A few have booked Travelodges, some are staying with local friends.

'I've just heard from one pupil who's going to take four-and-a-half hours for her journey, to make sure she gets there for her maths exam in the afternoon.' 

Sir Dan Moynihan, chief executive of the Harris Federation, which runs 51 schools in and around London, said: 'We are saying to students how proud we are of them to have come through the last two years and get to this point.

'They are well prepared and ready and must not let this distraction stop them. One more push, with extra planning and effort to get in on time, will give them the grades that they really deserve. Our academy minibuses are on alert as a last resort and will be used to collect those students who we know will struggle to get in on time or for whom things go wrong on the day.'

Jenny Brown, head of the City of London School for Girls

Mrs Kotlarek blasted 'selfish' rail workers, telling the Mail: 'They could have done this a week later which would have been less disruptive for children, but I don't think there is a right time to shut down the country.'

The mother-of-two runs garden design company Genesis Gardens with her husband, Radek, 41, and has had to scrap meetings with clients.

She said: 'By the time I have driven them to the exams I will have to sit and wait for them to finish, it's wiped out two days of business and added to their stress.

'The country is just recovering from Covid and they have decided to close it all down again. My children have had to prepare for exams during the pandemic and now they are hit by this on their last week of exams.'

Johnny, 49, from the Westminster area of London, and who did not want to give his surname, will drive his son the 25 miles to school instead, setting out at around 6am to make sure he arrives on time.

'He has been very anxious about how to get to school and not to be late. Although we understand the reasons behind the strike this is very disrupting. I think children have suffered enough during the pandemic,' he told the PA news agency.

'Some of (my son's) friends from school don't live nearby and they also have to travel long distances. His exam starts at 9am and they have to be at school by 8.30 the latest. I have to start working at 10 so I will have to be late.

'I actually do sympathise (with the industrial action) but I disagree with the timing. The timing isn't good. I strongly believe the Government should have never allowed the situation to escalate to this.'

It comes as Transport Secretary Grant Shapps slammed the rail strikes as he said his daughter who is due to take an exam would be affected.

A general view of an empty platform at Paddington Station in London today

A deserted King's Cross station in London today as Mick Lynch's mass strikes sow mayhem for millions of people

He said: 'I can see the stress is already building on her because she's now worried about getting there, it's a callous approach.'

Boris Johnson told his top ministerial team the strike was causing 'significant disruption and inconvenience up and down the country'.

They were making it 'more difficult for people to get to work, risking people's appointments, making it more difficult for kids to sit exams - all sorts of 'cu'.

He set out why he believed the strikes were 'so wrong and so unnecessary', pointing to the levels of support offered to the industry during the pandemic and the 'colossal' investment in rail infrastructure.

'We believe in our railways, we believe in our railway infrastructure as a vital part of levelling up across the country,' he said.