THEY were supposed to be in lessons, but instead they came en masse and brought a Hampshire city centre to a halt.

Nearly 1,000 students swarmed through the streets of Winchester to demonstrate against higher tuition fees and education cuts.

Around 800 of them were sixth form students from Peter Symonds and Barton Peveril colleges. They flooded the High Street and the surrounding roads, obstructing pedestrians and blocking traffic.

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Despite some students walking out of lessons to participate, both colleges said they would not be taking specific action against those who bunked off.

Neil Hopkins, principal of Peter Symonds said: “The majority of the protesters who went from Peter Symonds did not have lessons anyway. We won’t be seeking out those who were absent and they will be treated as if they were absent any other day.”

Carol Geddes, director of communications at Barton Peveril college in Eastleigh, said: “Our student committee did not actually back the walkouts. They decided the way they wanted to protest was through a petition.

High spirits

“We sent an email around the student body to encourage students to not miss lessons and talk to their parents about the issue. Our students have the right to peaceful protest, but we made them aware that their absence would not be authorised.”

Peter Symonds estimated only 250 of their 3,200 students attended the protest, while Barton Peveril said only around 70 went on an organised train trip from Eastleigh, but far more students turned up identifying themselves from the colleges.

All of the colleges confirmed that no teachers or lecturers took part and it was “business as usual”.

The protesters were in high spirits as they vocally denounced Government plans to raise tuition fees and cut Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) payments, chanting “Fight, fight, fight, education is our right.”

Unlike the national student protest in London, which sparked riots and violence, the students in Winchester remained peaceful throughout.

Toby North, president of the Peter Symonds student union, said the students wanted to deliver a strong message to Whitehall.

He said: “Politicians have broken their pledges. We are trying to send a message to the Government that we won’t stand for these cuts to education. The EMA which helps students from poorer backgrounds is going to be cut so I am certain that many students won’t be able to go to college anymore.

“We have an elite Government with 19 millionaires in the cabinet and we feel that they are not thinking about those who are not privileged in society.”

The protest was conducted in close cooperation with Hampshire Police.

Inspector Patrick Reddin of Hampshire Police, who was in charge of the police presence, said: “The Peter Symonds students and others did not cause us any problems. Many went back very quickly to their colleges so as not to miss lessons.

“Because of the events in London we had to have a lot of resources here, but realistically we did not anticipate any problems and were pleased to see it go off without a hitch.”