Students protest

Protesters target a police van in Westminster, London Photograph: Anthony Devlin/PA

Students take to the streets in Brighton, East Sussex, to protest against proposed rises in tuition fees Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

Students in Leeds stage a demonstration as part of a national campaign of protests against increased tuition fees and cuts in further education funding Photograph: Gabriel Szabo/Guzelian/Guzelian for the Guardian

Students participate in a mass demonstration in London over government plans to reform education funding and raise tuition fees Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

A student in Bristol with a topical placard Photograph: Sam Frost for the Guardian

Students march in protest in Glasgow, Scotland Photograph: David Moir/Reuters

Students from Sussex Coast College take to the streets in Hastings Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

A policeman tackles a student protester in Cambridge University Photograph: Geoffrey Robinson/ Rex Features

Students protest in Westminster, London, against planned increases in tuition fees and maintenance grant cuts Photograph: Lewis Whyld/PA

A demonstrator speaks to students occupying the grounds of Senate House at Cambridge University Photograph: Darren Staples/Reuters

Protesters let off a smoke flare as thousands of students protest against tuition fees in Whitehall, London Photograph: Sang Tan/AP

A student jumps over a fence to join other students occupying Oxford University's famous Radcliffe Camera Photograph: David Moir/Reuters

Riot police stand by in Whitehall during the student protests in London Photograph: Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA

Police hold protesters back during a demonstration over tuition fees and university funding in London Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Student demonstrators in Bristol throw a firework at police as part of their protest against the planned rise in tuition fees Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Students in London try to stop a police van from being attacked Photograph: Ray Tang/Jon Hordle/Rex Features

Riot police and students clash in Whitehall Photograph: Martin Argles for the Guardian

Police hold back protesters in London Photograph: Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA

Students in Sheffield protest Photograph: David Sillitoe for the Guardian

A young boy from Bristol Grammar School pokes his head through the bushes to watch students from Bristol protest at the education fees and cuts Photograph: Ben Birchall/PA

Students in Bristol stage a demonstration as part of a national campaign of protests against increased tuition fees and cuts in further education funding Photograph: Sam Frost/Sam Frost

Police clash with students during a demonstration over tuition fee increases and university funding cuts in London Photograph: Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images

Students in Bristol stage a demonstration as part of a national campaign of protests against increased tuition fees and cuts in further education funding Photograph: Sam Frost/Sam Frost

Protesters stand on top of a bus stand as thousands of students protest against tuition fee increases in Whitehall Photograph: Lefteris Pitarakis/AP

A student demonstrator is detained by police following a protest against the proposed rise in tuition fees in Bristol Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Students pose for photographs in front of a vandalised police van during a demonstration over tuition fee increases and university funding cuts in London Photograph: Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images

A student climbs over a fence to join her counterparts occupying the grounds of Senate House at Cambridge University Photograph: Darren Staples/Reuters

A couple keep warm in a telephone box in Whitehall during protests against planned increases in tuition fees and maintenance grant cuts Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Police detain demonstrators in Whitehall in central London following a student protest against government plans to raise tuition fees Photograph: Anthony Devlin/PA

Demonstrators set a bus shelter alight in Whitehall Photograph: Anthony Devlin/PA