Strikes at Britain’s oldest school have been called off after only one day of industrial action when staffed walked out for the first time in its history.

Bosses at the King’s School in Canterbury - which is believed to date back some 1,500 years - say they welcome the decision.

Union members also said they are “delighted” to feel the need for strike action is no longer required following a dispute over pension contributions and “fire and rehire” tactics.

Teachers at King’s went on strike last Tuesday accusing governors of taking a “coercive and unfair approach” during the negotiations.

The strike was the first such action in the school’s almost 15 centuries of existence.

The decision to now stand down was backed by 97% of union members at the school after an agreement was met with governors.

The fee-paying private school was accused by staff and the National Education Union (NEU) of using the controversial “fire and rehire” tactics to change contracts and force through new contributions for staff pensions.

King’s governors were proposing a cap on the school’s contributions to the Teacher Pension Scheme (TPS) - a government-backed scheme which covers the vast majority of academic staff at King’s.

This would mean that if the government decided to increase the pension contributions expected from employers, staff who stayed on the TPS would take a compulsory pay cut to make up the difference.

Alternatively staff would have the choice to join a defined contribution pension scheme, which the strikers say would not be beneficial for all staff.

Mike Cox is one of the NEU’s representatives for staff at King’s, and has been teaching maths at the school for 18 years.

Speaking during the strike action last week, he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “It’s been a very difficult time for the staff.

“We’re not here out of self interest, we’re not here asking for a payrise, we’re not asking for more money, we are asking for protection for our colleagues from this coercive and unfair approach that the school governors have decided to use.”

However, two days after the strike, NEU members at the school met, and 97% voted to postpone the five further days of strike action they had planned in June.

Mr Cox said: “There was a feeling that they were pushing through the consultation over pensions with incomplete information because they were trying to do it ahead of an expected announcement from the government on what the employer contribution rates were anticipated to be.”

He explained school governors have agreed with staff to postpone the consultation on changes to pensions until April 2024 - when the next government announcement on employer contributions to the TPS is expected.

“This buys everyone lots of time to find an amicable conclusion to the dispute so it’s not a resolution to the dispute itself – fire and rehire is still technically part of the process now,” Mr Cox added.

“But the membership were happy that we’ve got a concrete agreement, that no one is expecting a new contact in front of them this week, we’re not going to have this in front of us the day we come back in September or anything like that.”

He argued last week’s strike had sent a message to governors on the practice of fire and rehire.

He said: “I think that they understand the strength of feeling in the staff body in a way that they did not before.

“Whereas it was something that previously had been minimised in discussions or ignored or brushed aside, they’re actually engaging with that side of the conversation now.

“We are delighted not to be striking, none of us ever wanted to be striking.

“We are very pleased the governors have properly listened to the staff and the deferral is a very meaningful bit of progress to allow us to reach an amicable conclusion.”

A spokesman for the King’s School said: “We welcome the decision that the NEU union has voted to suspend the action on the remaining dates.”