Primary school attempts to change its name to sever ties with slave trader

A primary school is attempting to change its name due to its links with a slave trader, it has emerged.

Colston's Primary School in Bristol has launched a consultation with parents and pupils about whether it should drop its name in order to sever ties with the 17th century merchant Edward Colston, whose fortune was built on slavery.

The school, which was founded in 1947, said it was launching the consultation to "confirm our school's identity".   In a letter to parents, the school asked whether "the time [has] come for a change".

Oxford University refused to give into calls from the “Rhodes Must Fall” campaign to tear down a statue of Cecil Rhodes from Oriel College over his links with Britain’s colonial past.

The so-called “Rhodes effect” prompted a string  of  student movements calling for universities to sever ties with individuals and objects associated with colonialism.

Earlier this year, students at the University of Bristol have demanded that one of the city’s most famous landmarks, the Wills Memorial Tower, be renamed due to its alleged links to the slave trade, it has emerged.

The Tower, the students claimed, “glorifies” the slave trade because its namesake, Henry Overton Wills III, Bristol’s founding chancellor, used profits from his investments in the tobacco trade to fund the university’s royal charter.

Jesus College at Cambridge University took down a bronze cockerel statue which had been looted during a British colonial expedition to Nigeria in the 19th century, after students asked for it to be repatriated.

And Queen Mary University of London removed a foundation stone laid by King Leopold II amid student complaints that he was a “genocidal colonialist”.

However, this is thought to be the first time that the phenomenon has taken hold at a primary school.

In a letter sent to parents, Colston's Primary School said: "Having undertaken a vision and values project this year and received a formal request for consultation over the school name in May 2017, governors are delighted to be in a position to roll this out now. This is a very important decision for our school, so please do have a careful think about it."

Colston, who was born into a prosperous Bristol merchant's family and became an MP for the city. He donated widely to churches and hospitals in Bristol and founded two almshouses and a school.

He who rose to prominence as the deputy governor of the Royal African Company and built up much of his wealth on the slave trade, as well as, cloth, wine and sugar. Governors are expected to come to a decision by the end of the year as the school prepares to celebrate its 70th birthday. 

The move comes after one of the city’s music venues, Colston Hall, announced that t would change its name by 2020 because Colston's heritage had become "toxic". Colston's Primary School said it was in "a similar situation" to the hall in that it had "no direct connection" with Colston's philanthropy.

"It kept the name Colston's because it formerly housed the junior school for Colston's  Girls'  School between 1941 and 1946," the school said in its letter to parents.

Any name change would need to be approved by the Education and Skills Funding Agency and the school would need to meet any costs associated with the name change out of its own budget.

The school said: "The governors have received a verbal pledge from a donor, who has offered to support and cover the cost of a name change project. Preliminary research currently estimates such a cost to be in the region of £3,500.”

The donor also stipulated that they want workshops for children around names, Bristol and the city's history for up to ten years.