Students from Scotland's leading performance arts academy are seeking legal advice following changes to their courses brought about by funding cuts.

Students from Scotland's leading performance arts academy are seeking legal advice following changes to their courses brought about by funding cuts.

The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) in Glasgow last week announced plans to make some staff redundant while moving others from full-time to part-time contracts.

Students from across the RSAMD, who held a protest outside the academy yesterday, said they feared proposed cuts would harm their education.

Amber Hickey, 20, from California, said: "This will have a major effect on our courses in the drama school. Several elements of the course have been brought together which will dilute the quality. This is meant to be the highest level of training and we are concerned that will no longer be the case. We are seeking legal action to see whether the university has breached the conditions of its contract with us."

The cost-cutting action was taken after the implementation of a nationwide pay rise for lecturers which officials at RSAMD say they cannot afford. The institution is also concerned that they receive less funding for drama courses than institutions in England.

Despite the cuts, officials have insisted that there will be no loss of quality in any of the courses on offer.