Sixth-form college staff across England walked out on Wednesday in the first national teacher strike in six years, with one union leader warning disruption could be repeated on a greater scale next year. Members of the took action at 75 colleges after voting overwhelmingly in favour of a strike over pay. Like their colleagues in schools, most sixth-form college teachers have received below-inflation pay rises of about 5 per cent. The NEU said the action was 鈥渟trongly supported鈥�, although it would not say how many of its 4,200 eligible members walked out. It is understood no college had to close. The union is currently balloting teaching and support staff members in schools. The NASUWT and leadership union NAHT are also balloting members for action. Laura Wall Dr Mary Bousted, the NEU’s joint general secretary, said the union would 鈥渟eek to coordinate further action鈥� in sixth-form colleges with wider walkouts. 鈥淭he strength of feeling across the public sector is as one. Today is a warning shot to government if they continue to take no action on calls for a fully funded, above-inflation pay rise for teachers. 鈥淭his demonstration of anger will be even more visible should, as we expect, NEU teachers and support staff in schools and academies across England and Wales vote to take strike action in 2023.鈥� Sarah Alaali About 60 staff at Woodhouse College, a sixth-form college with academy status in Barnet, north London, were eligible to walk out, with about a third joining a picket outside the gates on Wednesday morning. ‘Undervalued and left behind’ Laura Wall, an English teacher and NEU rep, said the issue was 鈥減ay stagnation鈥�, which made teachers feel 鈥渦ndervalued and left behind鈥�. 鈥淲e鈥檝e worked incredibly hard. We’ve struggled away through the pandemic teaching. We did all the [teacher-assessed grades] and [centre-assessed grades], put all this work in and we’re still having to ask and beg for pay rises that reflect what’s going on in the larger economy.鈥� Sarah Alaali, who has taught maths for nine years, said she had considered opting out of her pension 鈥渏ust so I could afford to keep paying my mortgage. I don’t feel like the government values education.鈥� John Brennan Rhodes John Brennan-Rhodes, the college鈥檚 head of maths, said his biggest fear was colleagues leaving the profession. 鈥淚 love working here. I’m not really angry at the college itself. I think that they should be given more money so that we can earn more money.鈥� David Makepeace, a physics teacher, pointed to the government鈥檚 decision to scrap the cap on bankers鈥� bonuses. 鈥淣ow they’re back where they were earning loads of money. And yet we haven’t been compensated for all the hard work that we’ve been doing over this time, working through Covid, like the nurses, like other public sector employees.鈥� David Makepeace The Sixth Form Colleges Association acknowledged salaries were being 鈥渆roded鈥�, but said funding was lower for their members than other settings, leaving them without the resources to 鈥渕eet demands for such a high pay rise鈥�. The DfE said sixth form colleges set their own staff pay, and that it would invest an extra 拢1.6 billion in 16 to 19 education.