Oxford students occupy County Council and Castle Hill

Around 2pm a group of students that had marched up the High Street, were met by a group coming from the Oxford Free School in Bonn Square, both these groups then returned to Bonn Square, where there was a brief carnival-style rally with music playing out of a sound-system in a shopping trolley and the students dancing and shouting (offering hope for a come-back of the free party movement).

In a carnival atmosphere, the students then headed off en-masse back down Queen Street, turning in to Corn Market. Making seemingly spontaneous decisions as to where to go, the march, now numbering some 300 mainly students, continued down Corn Market, had a brief sit-in outside Waterstones, and then proceeded down Broad Street, turned into Turl Street, and back onto the High Street. There was little police presence all the way, and the crowd appeared to be flocking randomly around, leading the cops to appear like there didn't know where it would go. The march then headed back up Queen Street and appeared like it was heading back to Bonn Square, but at that point, students suddenly started running for the County Council offices and streamed in through its doors!

Some 100 students managed to pour into the Council offices, causing much disruption and consternation by their presence, but I did not see any damage caused, and no-one was abusive to staff. In fact a number of the staff were very supportive of the students, some even applauding them from out of their office window. The police got control of the doors and stemmed the tide of students flooding into the building. After about 15-20 minutes, when the students inside found that there was nowhere to go, everyone left peacefully, although the police felt it necessary to photograph and video each student as they left.

After everyone had regrouped outside the Council offices, the body of students then ran to the nearby Castle Hill, where they clambered up and occupied it. It was around 3.30pm, at which point I left.

Overall, it was a spirited protest with a constant carnival atmosphere, chants of "No if, no buts, no public sector cuts!", "Build a bonfire, build a bonfire, put the Tories on the top, put the Lib Dems in the middle, and burn the fucking lot!" and "they say cut backs, we say fight back!", Rage Against the Machine and various Drum 'n' Bass tracks banging out on the sound system, relatively small-scale police presence, no major incidents.

Statement from group occupying offices:

"This building is being occupied by the Joint Protest Group Oxford in anger at the con-dem plans to cut EMA and raise the tuition fees cap to £9000.

We are a coalition of Oxfordshire school students, united in our disgust at the government's aggressive education cuts.

We demand that:

* The closing of 20 Oxfordshire youth centres be reviewed.
* The "building schools for the future" programme be reinstated.
* The "aim higher" programme be reinstated.
* Higher education tuition fees be scrapped.
* EMA to be maintained as it is.
* Teacher funding be maintained as it is.
* Police forces around the country stop the use of intimidation and violence against peaceful students.
* The Metropolitan Police issue a public apology for the events of 24/11/10 in London.
* Nick Clegg to personally visit Oxford and negotiate with J.P.G.
* We demand that we are let out peacefully by the Police.