TEACHERS could strike as pupils prepare for exams this summer, a union claims.

Over 1,400 education staff in Redbridge are set to be balloted on possible action over proposed changes to pensions, which could lead to walkouts on the eve of GCSEs and A-levels.

The National Union of Teachers (NUT), Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) and National Association of Schoolmasters/ Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) will all ballot their members after the Easter break, it has been confirmed.

Graham Edwards, branch secretary for the ATL, said: “It’s very likely that the strike will be voted through.

“We wouldn’t do it unless we were confident our members would be behind it.”

“I can’t see head teachers keeping schools open, who will they get to teach?”

The ballot was prompted by government plans to double the amount teachers contribute to their pensions, from six per cent to nine per cent, and a proposal to raise the age of retirement.

However, NASUWT said its members are unlikely to support a walkout.