Around 100 secondary school pupils from across Dundee marched on Tayside House to protest plans for education spending cuts and the establishment of a city campus for Advanced Higher courses.
Students left classes at Harris Academy and walked under police escort to the city council’s offices to hand in their petition to the outgoing director of education, Jim Collins.
Campaign group Students Defending Dundee Schools organised the peaceful protest and the petition, which has attracted around 250 signatures since its launch on Monday.
Armed with banners, placards, whistles and a megaphone, the demonstrators voiced their opposition to the council’s proposals to slice £4 million out of the education budget for 2011-12.
The group are also against the authority’s city campus plan, which will see pupils from different schools brought together to study certain Advanced Highers.
As the group waited at the entrance of Tayside House, sixth-year pupil Wayne Scott (18) delivered the petition to officials inside.
He emerged a short time later after being denied the opportunity to hand the signatures over to Mr Collins, who was unavailable.
Rapturous cheers greeted the Harris Academy student as he returned to the group and explained a meeting would have to be arranged at a later date between both parties.
“We were told to make an appointment with Jim Collins after the Easter holidays, which is what we are going to do,” Mr Scott told The Courier.
“The amount of people who signed the petition really shows the strength of feeling against the cuts and city campus. The council wants to cut £4 million from education and we don’t think that teachers and pupils should have to pay for that.”
The protest comes days after the education committee agreed to carry out a review of the school estate, in which the convener said there are no plans to close any schools, but was was unable to rule this option out completely.
The Students Defending Dundee Schools is also calling on the local authority to agree to a public consultation with pupils, parents, teachers, trade unions and the wider community.