Secondary schools in West Dunbartonshire will be closed on Thursday as teachers strike over cuts.

The action is the second time in just over a month that members of the EIS union in the area have walked out over plans to cut principal teachers.

EIS, Scotland’s biggest teaching union, has said council proposals to solve the dispute are “unacceptable”.

All five of the local authority’s high schools will be closed on Thursday, however the area’s primary and nurseries will be open as usual.

EIS teachers staged their first strike since the 1980s in January.

West Dunbartonshire Council has proposed to cut the number of principal teachers by combining subjects into so-called “faculties” with one head.

However, 91% of members voting rejected the new proposals on a 90% turnout.

The union said teachers continue to have serious concerns about the educational impact of the proposals, and the implications for teachers' “already severe” workload.

EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan said: "There remains a fundamental gap between the council's position and the view of teachers. The council remains determined to introduce a faculty system and our members in West Dunbartonshire secondary schools remain committed to fighting the imposition of this change."

A spokesman for the council said: “We acknowledge the disruption this action is causing and would once again like to apologise to our pupils and parents. We’re really disappointed to see the prospect of further industrial action at our secondary schools.

“We took onboard all of the points raised by the EIS and came back to them with a significant concession to appoint an additional 16 principal teachers and to complement that with a package of nine measures designed to reduce workload.

We would like to reiterate that we remain committed to reaching a resolution for the benefit of everyone.”