On Friday 20 November, students across Europe will walk out of class to fight for our future, not their wars. This pack shows you, step by step, how to organise a walkout where you study. You don’t need any experience: Socialist Students will help you at every stage.
The plan at a glance
Start as soon as you can: the earlier you fix a time and place, the more people will hear about it. Here is the whole plan in six steps, and each step has its own section below.
- Get in touch with Socialist Students, and get leaflets, posters and stickers.
- Find two or three people who want to walk out with you.
- Fix the time and place: when you will walk out, and where you will go.
- Spread the word and get support
- Meet to plan together.
- Get ready for the day: share out the jobs and pack the kit.
What is 20 November?
On Friday 20 November, school, college and university students across Europe will walk out of class and protest. It is called the International Youth Strike, and its slogan is “Fight for our future, not their wars”. More than 25 youth and student organisations in 12 countries are building it, including Socialist Students in Britain (Socialist Students).
Students are already on the move. In Germany, school students have walked out in their tens of thousands against military conscription, and they will strike again on 20 November. In France, school students have blockaded their schools against overcrowded classrooms, underfunded education, broken infrastructure and police repression. In Spain, students and young people have been part of the mass protest movement against evictions and capitalist ‘rentier economy’. (Socialist Students, 7 October).
Many young people are worried about climate change affecting their future. 20 November is the last scheduled day of COP31, this year’s UN climate talks in Turkey. Many young people see those talks as another talking shop while governments don’t do enough to stop climate change (Socialist Students, 12 October).
What is a walkout?
A walkout means leaving class at an agreed time, or not going in, then meeting other students and going to a protest together. Worried your teachers might try to stop you leaving school or college on the day? Then don’t go in. Meet the others outside at the time you have set, or go straight to the protest. You can convince others not to go in either: the more of you who stay out, the harder it is for anyone to stop the walkout.
Last September, Socialist Students organised walkouts in schools and colleges against Donald Trump’s state visit (Socialist Students, 15 October). This time, students in many countries will walk out on the same day.
Why we’re walking out
We are told there is no money for young people’s futures, but there is always money for war. UK military spending is set to rise to nearly £80 billion a year by 2029. Meanwhile courses close, public services crumble and the cost of living keeps rising.
At school and college, that means fewer specialist teachers, broken facilities and little support for our mental health. At university, it means tuition fees, years of debt and too few decent jobs at the end. 35 universities have joined the Defence Universities Alliance, and we want every university tie with arms companies ended.
Socialist Students says the problem is the system. Capitalism puts the profits of a super-rich few before our needs and the planet, and that drives war, climate breakdown and cuts. On our own we can be angry; together we can act, here and across Europe.
What we’re fighting for
- Free, fully funded education: scrap tuition fees, cancel student debt and bring back living grants
- Fund our services, not their wars
- A £15 an hour minimum wage for everyone, with no lower rates for young people
- Arms companies off our campuses
- Student unions in every school and college, to give us a voice
- Make the super-rich pay
- A socialist future, run for the needs of all, without war, poverty or climate chaos
Across Europe, the organisations behind the strike share five demands. They include an end to rearmament and to austerity in the name of war, no conscription, freedom for all oppressed peoples, climate justice and the defeat of the far right (the strike’s manifesto).
Step 1: Get in touch with Socialist Students
Tell us you want to organise a walkout, and where you study. Fill in the sign-up form, email socialistudents@gmail.com or text 07515921699. We will put you in touch with an organiser near you, who can meet you, answer questions and help you plan.
Ask for leaflets, posters, stickers and a few sign-up sheets. You can also order material yourself on the resources page, using the order form at the bottom.
Check Action in your area to see what is already planned near you. Many towns have a local Socialist Students Instagram page you can follow and message.
| Your local organiser | |
| Name | |
| Phone number |
Step 2: Find your first few people
You don’t need a big group to start: two or three friends who want to walk out is enough. Start with people you know, then ask people in your classes. Ask everyone who says yes to bring a friend. If they say yes, take their name and number, and give them material to give out, leaflets and a sign up sheet. If they want to know more first, give them a leaflet and talk again in a few days.
Sign-up sheets and a group chat
Carry a sign-up sheet everywhere, with columns for name, phone number, email and where they study. Keep the sheets safe and send the details to Socialist Students. Set up a group chat on WhatsApp or Instagram for everyone who wants to walk out, and post updates in it.
Step 3: Fix the time and place
Once there is a time and a place, the walkout is real, and every leaflet, poster and message can tell people where to go. You need to decide two things.
- The main protest: where all the walkouts in your town or city meet up. Your organiser will tell you if one is already planned.
- Your walkout: the time you will leave and where you will gather. Pick a meeting spot just outside the grounds that everyone knows, such as the main gate or a nearby park.
Some students may decide not to go into lessons at all and meet you outside instead, so tell them where to find you. Once it is fixed, tell Socialist Students by email or text so we can add it to the website. Then put it on everything: posters, leaflets, stories and the group chat.
Step 4: Spread the word and get support
Aim to do something every day until 20 November. The more people hear about the walkout, and the more often they hear about it, the more will come.
- Talk to people. This works better than anything else, and keep asking people to tell their friends!
- Hand out leaflets on the public pavement outside your school or college as people arrive or leave. Give a bundle to anyone who wants to help.
- Put up posters: noticeboards, your window, and local shops and cafés that say yes.
- Put stickers on your bag, laptop and water bottle, and give them out.
- Post on social media. Make an Instagram or TikTok page for your walkout, and share photos of your posters and activity. Tag @socialistudents and @youth_strike.
- Run a stall: even just you with a sign up sheet and leaflets at lunchtime.
- Are there other societies that you could invite to help organise the walkout?
- Hold a placard-making session. Cardboard and marker pens are all you need, and it gets new people involved. Placards are available to get delivered to you, just email us.
- Do you know teachers who might support you? Teachers and lecturers are organised in trade unions and have been on strike to improve funding for education. Can you ask for the union rep at your institution and give them this model motion?
A warm-up on 30 October
Friday 30 October is an international day of action in solidarity with dockworkers taking action against war and arms shipments. A lunchtime protest, or just a group photo with your posters, makes a great warm-up for 20 November.
Step 5: Plan together
Hold a planning meeting
Get everyone who wants to help together to meet regularly until 20 November. It can be at lunchtime, after school, in a café or library, or online. Your Socialist Students organiser can come along and help.
A simple agenda:
- Welcome: everyone says their name and where they study.
- Why we’re walking out: a short discussion, perhaps starting from a leaflet. Suggested meeting topics: what 20 November is, war and militarisation, the rise of racism and the far right, climate change, education cuts and the cost of living, with articles and leaflets for each below.
- Where we’re up to: how many names, which posters are up, what happened this week.
- The plan for the day: the time, the meeting point and the route to the main protest.
- Jobs for this week: who will do what, and by when.
- The date of the next meeting.
Before anyone leaves, ask each person what they will do this week, and write it down.
Suggested meeting topics
Take one topic per planning meeting. Someone reads the articles beforehand and opens the discussion, and everyone can start from the leaflet.
Come to Socialism 2026 in London
The weekend before the walkouts, come to Socialism 2026 in London. On Sunday 15 November at 3pm, Socialist Students has been given the opportunity by the event organisers to host an N20 International Youth Strike rally there. You will hear from youth organisations building the strike across Europe, including in France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and the Spanish state (Socialist Students, 2 October).
The overall event is a weekend of discussion and debate on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November at the Institute of Education, Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL, organised by the Socialist Party (programme). It is a great place to meet other students organising walkouts and take new ideas home.
Weekend tickets cost £10 for school and college students and £20 for university students. If you are coming from outside London, get the golden ticket instead: it includes a hostel bed, so you can stay over, and costs £35 if you are unwaged or low-waged. Book by 13 November for 10% off (tickets), and ask your organiser about travel.
Step 6: Get ready for the day
In the last week, make sure everyone knows the plan and share out the jobs. In a small group, one person can do more than one job.
| Job | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Host | Open the rally and introduce the speakers |
| Speakers | A few people with speeches prepared |
| Chant leader | Start the chants, ideally with a megaphone |
| Stewards | Keep the group together |
| Sign-ups | Take the names and numbers of everyone who walks out |
| Photos and posts | Take photos and videos and post them, tagging @socialistudents and @youth_strike |
Kit checklist
- ☐ Megaphone (a cheap one is fine; ask your organiser if you can’t get one)
- ☐ Leaflets with the protest details, to hand out on the day
- ☐ Placards and a banner
- ☐ Sign-up sheets, clipboards and pens
- ☐ A chant sheet (see “Speeches and chants”)
The night before, message the group chat with the time, the meeting point and what to bring.
On the day
Here is how the day could go. Every walkout is different, so adapt it to your own plan.
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Before school or college starts | Meet at the gates with your organiser. Hand out leaflets with the protest details and invite people to join you. |
| Walkout time | Leave together at the agreed time and gather at your meeting point. Take everyone’s name on the sign-up sheet. |
| Straight after | Hold a short rally on the spot: one or two speeches, a few chants and a group photo. Tell everyone the plan for the rest of the day. |
| On the way | Walk together to the main protest, or first to another school or college you can get to join the protest. |
| The main protest | Speeches, chants and an open mic for anyone who wants to speak. Hand leaflets to passers-by. |
| Before you go home | Tell everyone about the follow-up meeting, collect names, and send photos and a short report to socialistudents@gmail.com. |
Whatever the turnout
- If five of you walk out, that’s a start. Have a quick chat, take a photo and go to the main protest together.
- If 50 walk out, hold a rally there and then before you set off.
- If hundreds walk out, rally on the spot with the megaphone, then march, perhaps to another school or college to call them out too.
Students across Europe will be posting all day on @youth_strike. Show it to people at your protest.
Speeches and chants
A short speech
A good speech lasts a few minutes and covers four things: who you are, why you are here, what you want and what happens next. Here is one you can adapt:
“My name’s [name] and I’m at [school, college or university]. We’ve walked out today because we’re sick of being told there’s no money for our education, while billions go on weapons and war. Right now, students in Germany, France and across Europe are walking out too. We want free education, decent jobs and a future without war. This isn’t the end, it’s the start: come to our meeting on [date] and let’s get organised. Fight for our future, not their wars!”
Chants
One person calls a line and everyone repeats it or answers.
- Fight for our future, not their wars!
- Money for jobs and education, no more war and occupation!
- No ifs, no buts, stop their wars, fight their cuts!
- When our futures are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!
- When they say cut back, we say fight back!
- Students and workers, unite and fight!
- Whose future? Our future!
Got a chant idea? Send it to socialistudents@gmail.com.
After 20 November
The walkout is the start, not the end. Hold a follow-up meeting for everyone who walked out to decide what to do next, using the names from your sign-up sheets.
Start a Socialist Students group
Any group of students can set up a Socialist Students group at their school, college or university, and Socialist Students can help you do it. A group meets regularly, campaigns on the issues its members care about and can send a representative to the national steering committee. You can join Socialist Students online.
Come to the national conference
The Socialist Students national conference is on Saturday 5 December at University Place, University of Manchester, from 10am to 5pm (conference page). A big theme will be what comes next after 20 November, with speakers from the youth strike across Europe. Ask your organiser about travel.
Key dates and contacts
| Date | What is happening |
|---|---|
| Friday 30 October | International day of action against war and arms shipments: a warm-up for 20 November |
| Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November | Socialism 2026 in central London, with Socialist Students’ International Youth Strike rally on the Sunday (tickets) |
| Friday 20 November | International Youth Strike: walk out! |
| Saturday 5 December | Socialist Students national conference, Manchester |
| Contact | Details |
|---|---|
| Socialist Students | socialistudents@gmail.com, or text 07515921699 |
| Sign up to organise a walkout | Sign-up form |
| What is happening near you | Action in your area |
| Order leaflets and posters | Resources page |
| Model motion for trade unions | Model motion |
| Socialist Students online | socialiststudents.org.uk and Instagram @socialistudents |
| The International Youth Strike | youthstrike.org and Instagram @youth_strike |
