Hundreds gather for teacher strikes at Norwich City Hall

In the first national education strike in seven years, those attending said it was more than just pay forcing them onto picket lines, saying pupils' futures could be at risk if things don't change.

Striking teacher Harry Thomas, second right, and fellow teachers from left, Sophie Copenan, Alex Northcote and Helen Baldwin, at the rally at the City Hall (Image: Denise Bradley, Newsquest)

Will Harrahan, who teaches English at a city school, said: "We have a situation here where teachers are leaving the profession in droves.

"It's creating a situation where children are missing out on their education, so it's as much about them as it is us.

"There's too much work-load and demand placed on teachers, giving up weekends to mark papers or catch up on admin work.

Striking teachers have said that it's about more than pay as they stood outside Norwich City Hall (Image: Denise Bradley, Newsquest)

"I know teachers who regularly work 60-hour weeks - these strikes are a last resort to change this."

Harry Thomas, a special needs teacher at Fred Nicholson School in Dereham, added: "People are focusing on teacher's pay but it's funding for schools and education as a whole.

Striking teacher Will Harragan, front centre, with colleagues at the rally at the City Hall (Image: Denise Bradley, Newsquest)

"We're under-resourced, which means we struggle and can't meet a lot of the needs for children.

"We have long working days and it's now all becoming too much."

The teachers strike is the first national strike of its kind since 2016 (Image: Denise Bradley, Newsquest)

Kate Blake-Holmes is a lecturer at the University of East Anglia (UEA). She said: "With the poor working conditions, lack of staff recruitment and massive pay gaps in terms of gender equality and diversity, it becomes harder to provide high quality teaching to students.

"School and universities are purely business models in my opinion looking at the bottom line and more focused on how to make more money than the actual experience given to students.

Striking teachers, Kate Blake-Holmes, second right, and Kate Stewart, right, with supporters, September Tebbit-Holmes and Thomas Blake-Holmes, at the rally at the City Hall (Image: Denise Bradley, Newsquest)

"I don't know any teacher who doesn't work through their evenings to catch up with work and we're just expected to carry on."

Wednesday was the first of four days of planned industrial action from 6,500 local members of the National Education Union in a dispute over pay, with the next planned for Wednesday, March 1.

Supporters and teachers had a variety of signs and placards at the rally at City Hall (Image: Denise Bradley, Newsquest)

West Earlham Infant and Nursery, Lionwood Junior and Mousehold Infant and Nursery were among the schools fully closed, with most impacted in some way.

Teachers are set to receive a below-inflation 5pc pay increase from September 2023, taking the average starting salary to £30,000.

However, this is not government-funded, meaning academy trusts have been left to find the money in their existing budgets.