Moan all you like about Gen Z, but some of today’s youngsters put adults to shame. Take the pupils at Connaught School for Girls in Leytonstone, east London. Tired of their teachers going out on strike yet again, this time during exam season, children and parents have begun mounting their own counter-demonstrations. After years of disruption to their education, they are urging the grown-ups to ‘teach or quit’.

Teachers who don a Palestinian scarf and turn their backs on their pupils reveal that education is the least of their concerns

Teachers who don a Palestinian scarf and turn their backs on their pupils reveal that education is the least of their concerns

A clip of Friday’s protest has been widely shared on social media. Angry pupils confront teachers who have chosen to spend the day on the picket line, rather than in the classroom. They are cross about being taught in groups of up to 60 by the headteacher in the school’s assembly hall, while their teachers – subject specialists and heads of department – parade outside.

The pupils hold cardboard signs reading: ‘Teach or Leave’ and ‘Don’t Strike Out Our Future’. One girl has a megaphone. She points out that some teachers have already spent extended periods away from the........

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