Music students in Aberdeen are uniting to protest against city council business plans which could close teaching facilities.
Around 150 secondary pupils have confirmed on a Facebook site, set up by four girls from Cults Academy, that they will be staging a demonstration at the end of the month outside the Town House in Broad Street.
Lauren McPhail, 16, and three of her friends receive music lessons paid for by the council, but will be unable to continue with their lessons if the cuts are made.
The girls are so angered by the prospect that they created a dedicated page on Facebook and invited friends from across the city who would also be affected to sign up.
Since the site was created at the weekend, the protesters have drawn up petitions and written to councillors and First Minister Alex Salmond.
The group is also planning to busk outside Marks & Spencer this weekend to show the public what they have achieved from their music tuition so far.
Miss McPhail said: “If this goes ahead we will be expected to pay for our lessons and our instruments, which some people cannot afford. We also won’t have any bands left to go to.
“The bands, choirs and orchestras we attend are a big part of our social life and are where we meet our friends from different schools across the city.
“We won’t be able to continue to sit our grades which will affect our education and our university applications.
“This is something we really need to fight for to make sure we can continue to keep playing and singing.”
Aberdeen City Council’s draft business plan for the next five years proposes cutting more money from education, culture and sport than any other department.
Pete Stollery, a professor at the music department in Aberdeen University, said: “The tuition pupils receive at an early age is absolutely crucial. The tutors in the schools across Aberdeen are very good and a number of them work here with us at the university.
“It would be awful to see this service cut and it is something they should be fighting to keep.
“However, the council is in a very difficult position at the moment and cuts need to be made somewhere.”
A spokeswoman for Aberdeen City Council said: “Music tuition is one of the things being considered in the council’s five-year business plan.
“A public consultation is in place and the council will make some decisions in December. However, nothing has been decided yet with regards to music tuition.”
Pupils will be protesting at the Town House on Tuesday, November 30, at 2pm.