Thousands of school pupils in Manchester, Glasgow, Bristol and London walk out calling for ceasefire in Gaza
17 November 2023, 19:07
Pupils across the country walked out of class on Friday as they called for a ceasefire in Gaza.
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Schoolchildren in Manchester, Glasgow, Briston and London were spotted participating in the walkout.
It is thought the protesters were held as part of a School Strike for Palestine rally.
Images shared across social media showed pupils taking to the streets of their respective cities, holding placards and chanting as they called for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Children in Bristol also handed in a petition to representatives at a city council calling for a ceasefire on Friday.
“Thank you for taking a stand for Palestine and for calling for a ceasefire,” Carla Denyer, co-leader of the Green Party, told Bristol crowds in the morning.
“The abhorrent situation in Palestine and Israel must end.
“I know we are all horrified by the Hamas attacks and we all want the immediate release of the hostages.
“Those atrocities do not in any way justify the level of bombardment of civilians, including many Gazan children, that has shocked the world.”
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, however, said she was “deeply concerned” by the pupil protests.
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Writing on X, Ms Keegan said: “I'm deeply concerned that some children are attending political protests during the school day.
“Even more so if they're taking part in, or being exposed to, antisemitic chants.
“This should be treated with the utmost seriousness - missing school for activism is unacceptable.”
It comes after huge crowds gathered in Parliament Square on Wednesday ahead of the government’s vote on whether to call for a ceasefire.
The SNP had pushed for an amendment to the King's Speech to back a ceasefire.
There were 125 votes in favour and 293 votes against the amendment.
Ten of the Labour Party’s frontbenchers left their jobs over the vote, which included eight shadow ministers.
