GLASGOW School of Art students are demanding a final year show is re-scheduled and they are given the option to defer their course due to continued disruption.

Students on the Master of Fine Art programme say they have missed months of tutoring and workshop time due to the twin fires, lecturer strikes and the current lockdown.

The say the closure of Stow Building, where they were relocated after the last fire, has also meant they are unable to prepare work for their degree show,  on which they are graded, which can now only be held online.

Some of the 18 students have demands a refund of the entire course fees if they are not allowed to defer.

In an open letter the students write: “GSA’s refusal to give students any reimbursement of fees illustrates that the finances of the institution are a higher priority than education or student welfare.

“There are 18 students in our cohort. Of 18, nine of us require Visa extensions in order to stay in the UK. 

“These students should be a priority for deferral as the COVID-19 crisis has impacted their options to find adequate work in order to stay.”

A spokeswoman for The Glasgow School of Art said: “The letters from the MFA students have been acknowledged and the issues raised are being handled in line with the GSA’s official complaints process. 

“The need to protect human life during the Covid-19 pandemic has meant that all public events have had to be cancelled including the GSA’s Degree Show.”