Several thousand students took to the streets of central London on Wednesday to protest against tuition fee increases and education budget cuts.
“Education is a right, not a commodity” read one of the placards held up at the protest, which passed off mostly peacefully and in a party atmosphere.
“Tuition fees? No way! Tax the rich and make them pay!” the students chanted as they marched.
“We want free education for everyone. It makes economic sense,” said 26-year-old Nehaal Bajwa, who is paying #9,360 (11,690 euros, $14,660) a year to study a Masters in economics.
“Plenty of money goes to the banks. We want it to go into school,” he said.
David, a 25-year-old German student who declined to give his surname, said: “I’m here to show solidarity.
“In Germany they scrapped the fees in some counties after massive protest. It is inspiring,” he said.
Two people were detained after a group charged towards police lines outside the ruling Conservative Party headquarters.
The protest was the biggest since 2010 when around 50,000 took to the streets in anger at the passage of a law to increase tuition fees in a rally that degenerated into running street battles with police.
Enrolment fees have since risen to as much as #9,000 in around a third of English universities, while Scottish universities have remained free.