Southampton students and pupils protesting over tuition fees

In Southampton, youngsters from several city colleges and schools marched through the city centre after meeting outside the Guildhall.

Around 100 young people from Taunton's, Southampton City and Barton Peveril colleges joined pupils from Upper Shirley High School and Regents Park Community College to take part in the noisy protest.

It was held as part of a third day of co-ordinated national action in response to Government plans to allow universities to charge up to £9,000 in tuition fees, cuts in education funding and the scrapping of the education maintenance allowance (EMA) grants for college students.

Several police officers escorted the protesters through the city centre, but did not intervene in the demonstration, except to help agree with security staff at WestQuay and The Mall shopping centres how long they could stay inside.

Today’s action was the third time students have voiced their concerns over the plans.

Last week, hundreds of students from Peter Symonds and Barton Peveril colleges and the University of Winchester took to the streets of the city as part of demonstrations designed to show their anger at the coalition’s moves.

There was also a smaller protest in Southampton, while students from Brockenhurst College joined colleagues at a march in Bournemouth.

The first march in London was marred by violence after protesters stormed Tory party headquarters in Millbank Tower.

Edward Woollard, from Dibden, later admitted violent disorder after throwing a fire extinguisher towards police officers from the roof of the seven-storey building.