More than 100 students, teachers, and parents gathered outside Boston Latin Academy on Tuesday afternoon to speak out against a proposed plan to move the Dorchester exam school to a new location in Hyde Park.

Students stood on the school’s front steps, waving banners with slogans like “BLA – Best Left Alone” and chanting “defense, defense” to oppose the plan. The student-organized demonstration took place in the early afternoon following the end of classes and drew the attention of State Representative and former BLA student Carlos Henriquez as well as City Councillor Charles Yancey.

Since the proposed move’s announcement over the summer, parents, students, and faculty members have rallied to preserve the BLA’s current location on Townsend Street, citing concerns that the Hyde Park location could not fit the school’s 1,700-student body and could make commutes preventatively long for some students.

Henriquez has been a vocal opponent to the plan, recalling his experience as a BLA student during the school’s last major move.

“I started at the old building and we fought long and hard, internally and externally to get this state-of-the-art building,” Henriquez said. “The principle should be enough, but [the move] will really cramp the school and it’s students. There’s no reason why we should limit what this school is capable of.”

Yancey, who attended high school in the building while it operated as the Boston Technical Academy in the 1960s, said he was impressed with the demonstration and called on his fellow councillors to oppose the move. 

“I’m very pleased to see this level of activism amongst students and parents,” Yancey said. “What the council can do is speak in a unified voice, to say that we do not support this.”

Boston Public School officials say the move will allow the Boston Arts Academy, currently located in the Fenway area, to expand into Townsend Street and alleviate that school’s 800-student wait list. Members of the BLA community toured the Hyde Park facility last week, but many opponents came away from that visit even more resistant to the move.

Beshaunn Jay, a BLA senior and one of the demonstration’s student organizers, echoed the concerns voiced throughout the planning process.

“We don’t want the school to move. The building [in Hyde Park] is meant for 1,100 students, it’s very unlikely that we’ll fit all of us,” Jay said. “I think we’re getting the low end of the deal.”

BPS officials say the next meeting regarding the BLA’s potential move is slated for October 24.