Students stage day of protests over tuition fee rises

Students staged occupations at universities including Royal Holloway College, Plymouth, Warwick, Birmingham, London South Bank, University College London, Leeds, Essex, Cardiff, Sheffield and UWE Bristol.

In the iconic Bodleian Library in Oxford, students planned to hold a “teach-in” as part of the occupation.

In Birmingham, students called on the university authorities to reject what they call a “socially regressive plan that will limit access to education”.

Students staging an occupation at University College London said they were protesting against “savage cuts to higher education and government attempts to force society to pay for a crisis it didn’t cause”.

Universities Minister David Willetts said students had not seemed to have understood the proposals on fees – and that they would not have to pay the higher fees up-front.

“Young people will be provided with the funds they need to meet whatever charges universities levy,” said Mr Willetts.

Marches, walkouts and protest events took place at universities and colleges across the country.

There were protest marches in Manchester, Liverpool, Brighton and Bristol.

School pupils walked out of lessons in Winchester, Cambridge, Leeds and London.

Students were protesting against plans to increase tuition fees in England to £9,000 per year and to withdraw public funding for university teaching budgets for many subjects.

A much larger student march in London two weeks ago ended in an attack on the Conservatives’ headquarters building – with the disturbances leading to 68 arrests.