By Kate Ferguson
As Bush was being shown the very best of British hospitality by Blair, students from across the capital took to the streets on 20 November in a demonstration against Bush and the invasion of Iraq.
Students from Camden School were amongst those protesting, with approximately 100 members of the sixth form having defiantly walked out of lessons at midday. This translates into one in four students not returning to their afternoon lessons. It created a buzz of debate within the school.
Protestors from Camden took to the streets, blocking traffic and ignoring police calls to stop as we marched towards Euston where the main demonstration was beginning. We were encouraged in our protest by surrounding motorists and pedestrians who shouted their support for the action that we, and many others were taking.
Once at Euston, Camden merged with other student protestors, creating a strong cohesive student dimension to the demonstration.
The march itself was a great success. Numbers were high and students were brought into contact with the wider sphere of left wing politics, often for the first time.
At Camden School the walkout was cited by most in similarly triumphant terms, not only for the sheer numbers of those who participated, but also because it stimulated political debate within the school..
This walkout and the wider student participation in the demonstration are further evidence of the radicalisation of the student movement in Britain over recent years. Students demonstrated alongside workers and extended their solidarity with the US opposition and the people of Iraq in full view of the world's media.
Thus, perhaps the most important aspect of the demonstration the left has to address is how to encourage this recent trend, lest it dies having gone untapped.
