Only the hairstyles were different

The first national walk-out in 21 years threatens schools and students

THE last time teachers around the country downed chalk, Wham! and Boy George topped the charts, shoulder-pads and bubble perms were the height of chic and Margaret Thatcher was heading towards her third election victory. Then, as now, the teachers' complaint was pay, and a war of attrition ended in 1987 after two years of intermittent strikes. Today's beleaguered government will be hoping that the April 24th walk-out planned by one of the two biggest teaching unions, the National Union of Teachers (NUT), is not the start of a similarly protracted row.

The ...