DOZENS of student protesters descended on the offices of MP Mike Freer last night in a protest over the decision to allow university tuition fees to rise.

More than 150 sixth form and GCSE pupils took to the streets for a march from ArtsDepot to the Finchley and Golders Green MP's Ballards Lane base at about 5pm.

There they threw shirts at the building in a symbolic gesture they feel the coalition government is taking the shirts from their backs by allowing fees of up to £9,000 per year for some courses.

Organiser Alex Clayman, 16, addressed the lively rally, telling them they had come up against opposition from some local people following the violent scenes outside Tory headquarters in central London last week.

He told the Times Series: “I don't think it's going to change the world, but it's a good starting point.

“All the people who are here now know about the issue and can go and tell their friends and explain the situation to them. A lot of people our age don't know what's happening.

“Politicians think they can ignore us, but what we showed today is we will not stand for these rises which are pricing many people out of a decent education.”

Along the march the youngsters started a chant to the tune of Pink Floyd's The Wall, singing “We all need an education, we all want to get a degree”.

After the demonstration Mr Clayman handed a petition passed around local schools to Mr Freer's representatives.

Councillor Alison Moore, Barnet Labour leader, also addressed the crowd, telling them she believed the increases were wrong.

She said: “Many of the MPs now making these decisions benefited from full or nearly full grants to study. Now they're punishing the next generation who want to improve themselves.

“Our economy is no longer based on manufacturing, we are world leaders in intellectual exports, so we are in fact spiting ourselves by stopping people going to university.

“The value of them going onto university is not just for them personally, but for the whole of society.”

Barnet's top policeman, Chief Superintendent Neil Basu, supervised the policing of the event personally, with several other senior officers also on hand among the 30 or so assigned to keep the peace.

He praised the peaceful nature of the protest saying: “We had intelligence up to 600 people may turn up so we had to be prepared for that.

“The most important thing is it passed off peacefully and I must praise the way Alex has organised this. He has been in constant contact with us throughout.”