DEFIANT students protested outside Wiltshire College in Trowbridge on Monday, over plans to close the Arc as a professional theatre.

Professional productions will come to an end and students will be moved out of their rehearsal space and into the theatre if the proposals are sanctioned by college managers next month.

A performing arts class protested with banners, and Sian Tucker, 17, a first year, said: “The very reason that many of the students come here is because it has a good status as a professional theatre. If you take that away you are left with nothing.

“We came here to do the course we signed up to do and now we are being told we might have to run it as a theatre ourselves.

“We want to perform, not run theatres.”

Vice principal Bev Flanagan said: “I would like to stress that the college is still in a period of consultation with the Arc Theatre and that all options presented by the advisory board will be considered and all views will be taken into consideration.

“There appears to have been a lot of misunderstanding about the plans for the Arc, I would again like to stress the Arc is not closing and we want the students to have more involvement with it. Our learners are important to us and we are certainly not going to put their opportunity of gaining qualifications and experience at risk.”

Student Ryan Williams, 18, who won a role on E4 series Skins, said: “We feel that the students have been used as pawns in a big game of chess.

“The whole thing has been an insult to us. They claim to know what the students want, but they don’t have a clue.

“We use the C7 building to do rehearsals, make costumes and build sets.

“It can get quite messy when we are doing woodwork and to be told we will have to do that inside the Arc is ridiculous.

“There isn’t the room for it and it’s not a workroom, it’s a stage that should be used for professional theatre.”

A consultation exercise being carried out by the college will end on November 12.

Talks have been held with parties including councillors and the BA14 culture group.

Tracy Sullivan of the BA14 culture group, said: “I think there is a disparity between the commitment and reality of carrying forward any suggested options for the future.

“We remain disappointed that the Arc, with its diverse professional programme, will cease to exist in its present form post January 2012.”

An online petition has collected 300 signatures at www.petitiononline.co.uk/ petition/petition-against-the-proposed-closure-of-the-arc-theatre-trowbridge/3544.