Since the parents and students came together with the teachers' trade unions and the local community, the campaign is on a whole new level. Students are in regular contact with parents and put forward the same demands, such as calling for a parents' ballot.

Social media, press, word of mouth and leaflets were useful. We also have badges, and on no-uniform day people made t-shirts that said 'no academies'.

What's your advice to other schools which don't want to become academies?

Organisation! Call student meetings to back up the work of parents and teachers. Everyone was against academies, but we needed to meet and discuss.

Now we have student spokespeople for the campaign. This helped people who at first weren't confident to protest.

What's next in the campaign?

We want to keep the protests going and get better organised as a student body. Students are getting inspired and engaged in politics, that's what keeps us going.

When people say we can't change this because there is money involved, I say: watch this space. We will make a difference.

■ Stop Academies in Lewisham demonstration. Saturday 21 March at 12pm, Lewisham Clock Tower. Marching to Hilly Fields, Ladywell.

Email [email protected] to get involved.

Oasis Academy Healey held a 'democracy day' on 13 March. All sixth formers had a chance to meet representatives of parties standing for election.

The first question students asked was about the Lib-Dem u-turn on tuition fees. Five years of austerity, rising costs and falling living standards haven't passed these young people by. They know they can look forward to university debt, minimum-wage jobs and zero-hour contracts.

Of the six representatives, the best response was for the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC - see page 5). TUSC highlighted that students are not responsible for the economic crisis, but through austerity are made to pay for it.

Students rejected the idea that Labour should get their vote simply to oust the Tories. This was the Labour representative's main argument, but it angered them. "If you want our votes then you should put forward what TUSC says" one responded.

The final question was about opposing austerity. TUSC called for collecting the unpaid taxes of big business and capping rents to make housing affordable. The representative also called for nationalising rip-off energy and transport companies, to be run for need, not profit.

But the students' favourite part of TUSC's response was on capitalism. The sixth richest country in the world can't afford a decent standard of living for the majority. Clearly something is wrong with the system.

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