A PROTEST march has been held today (Wednesday) as anger mounts over proposals to create a Leyton school trust.

Under the proposals, Norlington School for Boys and George Mitchell School will be governed by a single trust, run by the Institute of Education (IOE).

Campaigner and local resident Wendy Davis, 60, of Howard Road, said: “I'm totally opposed to education being privatised – I think it's horrendous.

“There's no possibility of democratic control by the local authority. I think the children of tomorrow belong to all of us and we should be responsible for their education.”

The aim of the protest was to raise awareness of the campaigners' cause and to garner support for a petition to be presented to the council.

Members of the NUT, parents, campaigners and at least one former pupil of George Mitchell School gathered outside Leyton Cricket Ground to speak out against the plans.

Protestors bearing banners with slogans such as “They're stealing our land” and “Hands off our cricket ground” then marched through Leyton and Walthamstow, finishing at the town hall.

Steve White, an NUT member and teacher at Leytonstone School, said: “The aim of the day is to have a march with strikers and to talk to people on the way.

“Maybe there are people who don't know about this who might be surprised to know what the council is planning.

“There might be people who are very shocked to know that in an Olympic borough, sports facilities are being reduced.”

The campaign is also being supported by the Waltham Forest Trades Council (WFTC), which has helped the Leyton Triangle campaign to distribute leaflets and petitions.

Darren O'Grady, of the WFTC, said: “We fully back the NUT strike, which we think is a tremendous first step to resisting trust status.”

Strike action has already taken place at Norlington and further pickets are planned for the autumn as campaigners say the council and the school have refused to negotiate.