In their own words

“Maintenance grants are really important because the whole point of what the government has been doing over the last seven years has been saddling students with so much debt. The purpose of it is to force people into low-paid and precarious work with no in-work rights at a time when they are also attacking trade unions. The debt problem is the big thing. It causes so much anxiety. That’s why we’re campaigning against these two things together.” — George Severs, Royal Holloway

“I’m here to fight for free education, against the course cuts that are being proposed and the maintenance grants. Just fighting student debt. This happens every year, I was here last year [so I decided to come again].” — Halima Usayd, SOAS

“I came today because education is a right not a privilege. You shouldn’t need to have been to an elite school to go to university. That’s not the way to make our country work, that’s not a fair way. And also, as a medical student, there’s currently a fight going on over junior doctor contracts and it’s about showing solidarity with all people in all the forms of education. And hopefully they’ll come out to protest with us.” — Joe Simpson, Kings College London