BRENT pupils, politicians and teachers are protesting against the decision to axe plans to rebuild four schools.

Chants of “London schools are falling down” rang out as crowds gathered in front of Methodist Central Hall in Westminster ahead of a meeting of teaching unions inside the building this lunch time.

Demonstrators are fighting the decision to scrap projects worth £80 million to turn four crumbling schools into modern facilities with more places for the borough's growing population.

The schemes were part of a programme called Building Schools for the Future (BSF).

Jasmine Par, 16, told the Harrow Times how she had been waiting for Copland Community School, in Wembley, to be rebuilt since she started in Year 7.

She said: “In 2005 we were promised a new school straight off the bat – it was one of the reasons our school was promoted but it never happened.

“I have family and friends who went to Copland, even ten years ago, and they were promised a new school too.

“In the humanities department a ceiling fell down so from the bottom floor you could look up to the top floor. We had scaffolding holding up the block.”

She said the ceiling collapsed two years ago and has since been fixed.

A meeting involving pupils and teachers organised by the National Union of Teachers (NUT), the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) and NASWUT is now taking place at the hall.

The protesters will go to the House of Commons later where they will meet Barry Gardiner, Labour MP for Brent North, and Glenda Jackson, MP for Hampstead and Kilburn and stalwart of the Labour left.

Crowds of pupils from Alperton Community School and Queens Park Community School gathered alongside Copland staff and pupils to protest against the cuts, which will also affect Cardinal Hinsley Mathematics and Technology College.

Mr Gardiner said: “It's great to have a fantastic turn out. It's good to see that the children themselves who have put so much effort into designing these new schools are here.

“We don't see how you can just turn around and junk all the work that's gone in here. The key thing is that we don't just have a demonstration.

“Making sure we get these schools rebuilt is the main objective. I don't want all of us to say we went down to Parliament and we had a great demonstration.

“I want to say Michael Gove had to revise his decision in relation to Copland and Alperton.”

He said he felt Brent had a strong case and would get funding if the Department of Education based its decision on educational need, stating anything else would be arbitrary.

More to follow.