HUNDREDS of children skipped school today to join a climate change protest in the centre of Brighton.

The youngsters ignored their teachers’ instructions to stay in class and took to the streets to demand action on global warming.

They gathered at the Clock Tower at 11am before marching to The Level, where MP Caroline Lucas spoke to the crowd.

Schools and education chiefs said the children should have stayed in school.

But city council leader Daniel Yates applauded the pupils.

Ellen Alderman, a year 8 pupil at Brighton and Hove High School, said: “Adults are responsible for climate change problems and we are left to deal with it.

“If we don’t do something now, how can we have a future?”

Schools had raised concerns about allowing children to attend the march.

At Blatchington Mill in Hove, pupils were threatened with detention if they attended the march.

At morning break, a number of children left, prompting staff to phone parents and try to “re-establish calm”.

Dorothy Stringer headteacher Richard Bradford said: “We are extremely concerned about the safety and wellbeing of young people who are intending to leave the school premises to take part in a mass demonstration.”

But some politicians backed the youngsters decision to attend.

Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas said: “Some education authorities are saying that young people can only miss school if there are exceptional circumstances.

“But if the threat of civilisation collapse, and the possibility of the end of life on earth as we know it, is not an exceptional circumstances, then I don’t know what it is.”

The youngsters carried banners and placards with slogans such as “I’ll take my exams when you take action,” and “Old enough to save the planet”.

And they chanted: “What do we want? Climate action.

“When do we want it? Now.”

Similar protests were held up and down the country.

Education secretary Damian Hinds said missing class was not the answer.

Mr Hinds said: “I want young people to be engaged in key issues affecting them and involving themselves in causes they care about.

“But let me be clear, missing class won’t do a thing to help the environment; all they will do is create extra work for teachers.”

Florence Bowidge, 16, who goes to Varndean, said: “Global warming is affecting us.

“We are very passionate about saving our planet, we want to tell our leaders that we need to go something now.”

One girl from Bhasvic who asked not to be named, said: “There are so many warnings about global warming and still leaders are doing nothing.

“So how many warnings do we need so we will do something?

“I am afraid at this rate it might be too late.

“Adults have left all these problems for us to deal with.”

Freya Michael from year 8 at Brighton and Hove High School said: “I am here to raise awareness about climate change.

“We learn a lot from school about the impacts of climate change and we want to take action.”

And Megan Baylock from the same school, said: “This is our future and we are left to deal with the problem. Our teachers and parents are very supportive.”

John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace UK, said: “Young people know that their lives are going to be changed dramatically by the impacts of climate change.

“The risks that older people hope they might dodge are the problems the young will inherit.

“And the longer the young wait for action to be taken, the harder it will be for them in future.”

Ketan Jha, a PhD Student from Sussex University, addressing the crowd said: “It is impossible to maintain the status quo.

“We must do whatever we can to make the politicians listen.”

Dan Yates, leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, said children’s education was “absolutely crucial” and he would not encourage them to skip school.

But he said he completely understood their frustration with politicians not taking climate change seriously enough.

He said: “This is the key issue for the world for the next 100 years in terms of climate change and not just leaving it for 100 years and pushing it down the road but taking action now.

“I think these young people have been wanting to make very clear the strength of their feeling that it’s adults like us who should have been dealing with it and that if we don’t deal with it they are going to be left to deal with it and it’s going to be much much worse and much more difficult to get to grips with.

“We have to do it in the next 10 or 12 years we can’t be hanging around and leaving it to the next generation.”

When asked if he supported children missing school to attend the protest, he said: “Obviously we are not encouraging children to be missing lessons but at the same time many of the young people who were out were on inset days.

“We are not supporting children missing out on their education because their education is absolutely crucial for their futures as well as the futures of the city and the planet.

“But at the same time time I completely understand their frustration.

“They feel that politicians aren’t sitting up and taking notice of quite hoe seriously they expect is to be dealing with it.”