Royal College of Art students block Kensington Road

Around 200 students from the Royal College of Art (RCA) held an hour long protest as part of a national day of walkouts, sit-ins and marches against the government’s planned cuts to higher education.

They began on the steps of the RCA building at 1pm but quickly moved to Kensington Road where they proceeded to block traffic by occupying the road. The students chanted “You say cutback, we say fightback” as motorists became more and more annoyed by the disruption. Motorcyclists forced their way past the students while some cars attempted to nudge the students out of the way. One driver used his car to force a way through the crowd, driving with a student on his bonnet for around 5 metres. A van driver got out of his car to argue with the demonstrators before shouted down by the crowd.

13 police officers arrived in 8 cars and forced the students back onto the pavement.

Cordelia Cembrowicz, Vice President of the Royal College of Art Students’ Union said “Cutting government funding along with increasing fees for art and design students will have a negative effect on not only our economy but on the very lifeblood of our culture. This nation needs artists, designers and musicians just as much as it needs mathematicians, engineers and scientists.”

The protest died down shortly after 2pm, with one student commenting that she was cold and had work to get on with.

Jarvis Cocker was rumoured to be leading the protest but wasn’t spotted on the day.