STUDENTS at St John's School, Marlborough defied teachers to take an unauthorised break for an anti-war demonstration on Tuesday.

The pupils were part of a growing movement by young people to speak out about the Iraq situation.

Three GCSE students, Kayleigh Pickard, 16, and brother and sister Adrian, 15, and Erin Turner, 17, missed the last lesson of the morning to hold a vigil on the town hall steps.

They carried a placard saying No War and held a silent vigil for half an hour.

Although teachers had said they could not miss lessons, the three said their strong feelings against war overruled school regulations.

Kayleigh, of Woodborough, said: "We have come out of school to show that young people do care."

Erin, who said she had told her mother she would be missing a lesson, said: "We have very strong opinions and we feel we should be allowed to voice them."

Erin said they accepted they could be punished for missing a lesson.

The 17-year-old said: "We believe we have to show how young people feel about this war."

Headteacher Patrick Hazlewood said he was very aware of the strength of feeling and fears of his students.

He said he would be speaking to the students before deciding how to respond to their unofficial absence from lessons.

If war is declared in Iraq, the Marlborough Peace Group will be holding a candle-lit vigil at 6pm on the day outside St Peter's Church. All will be welcome to join the group.

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