Education officials in Oxfordshire are planning to speak to headteachers about possible school closures during a planned strike by teachers later this month.

However, County Hall said it was up to individual heads to decide whether their school should close when NUT members go on strike on Thursday, April 24.

The NUT said there was a strong chance some of the county's schools would shut for the day after its members voted three to one in favour of strike action.

The union, which has about 2,700 members in Oxfordshire, voted to strike over the Government's offer of a 2.45 per cent pay rise.

The NUT said teachers wanted a rise of four per cent, in line with inflation.

Andrew Butler, head of human resources for the council's education department, said: "One of the key determinants in decision-making as to whether a school should close or not is sure to be the numbers of teachers in each school who choose to take part in the industrial action."

Brenda Williams, the NUT's Oxfordshire branch secretary, said: "I think some schools will be forced to close.

"We have a number of schools where practically every teacher is a member of the NUT and we would expect in those circumstances the headteacher to follow the guidance that it isn't safe to open their school."