Fewer than half of the capital's schools were closed today as striking teachers took to the streets to demand higher cost of living payments.
Town hall education chiefs said that around 2,000 of London's primary and secondary schools were completely or partially closed by the one-day strike, called by the two largest teaching unions.
Members of the National Union of Teachers and the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers are demanding their London weighting allowances are increased to match those of police officers, who receive £6,000 in central London.
The unions had claimed that as many as 5,000 schools would be affected by today's stoppage, but Graham Lane, Labour education chairman of the local government association, dismissed the figure, saying the effect of the strike was "patchy".
"We think that it is mostly inner London schools that are affected. Some are closed, some are partly closed and others will not be affected. There's also evidence that some members are not striking. It was a very low turnout for a yes vote," he said.
The NUT was not insisting its members took part in the strike, so some may have chosen to stay in school. The NASUWT voted for action on a borough by borough basis and not all voted in favour.
Mr Lane criticised the unions for not discussing the issue of London weighting with the employers before opting to strike.
"We want to talk to the unions, but talks haven't even started yet, let alone broken down. There will be no solutions before a discussion. They say it's a strike against the government, fair enough, but they could start with their employers," he said.
Teachers' pay had improved significantly over the past few years, he added, but there was not enough flexibility in the pay to stop young teachers leaving the profession.
Defending the strike, an NUT spokesman said: "It is government who decides whether to accept or reject the review bodies recommendations. This demonstration is a message to all parties involved in teachers' pay in London of the strength of feeling amongst teachers in London."
A parallel strike by local government workers has piled more pressure on schools as classroom assistants belonging to the public service union Unison staged a one-day stoppage.
