Crowds exceeded expectations as 400 staff and students made their voices heard to senior university officials, who refused to address students directly.

Despite minor concessions from University Management there are still no long-term guarantees for the future of modern languages past 2009/2010 session.

Katherine McMahon, one of the campaign organisers said:

“The anger shown by the students and staff on the demonstration is testament to how important Modern Languages are. It shows how hard we are willing to fight for our education. This is just the beginning; the campaign will be ongoing and we will not give up.”

Students and staff spoke to the crowd, including UCU members, student activists and Students’ Association representatives. The emphasis was on quality teaching coming before profit-driven research and business concerns. There was also a strong feeling of unity between teaching staff and students.

Robin Harper Lothian’s list MSP and former rector also addressed the crowed, stressing the importance of modern languages to Edinburgh’s status as a world class institution.

The campaign will now reconvene next Thursday to discus future action.