Colston Furore prompts school to review name
ANOTHER Bristol establishment with links to slave trader Edward Colston has launched a consultation into changing its name and emblem.
The Dolphin School in Montpelier has yesterday asked the local community for its views on the move with the launch of an online questionnaire.
A spokesperson for the Merchant Venturers, which runs the Venturers Trust academy that controls the school, announced in July that the consultation would launch this month.
With support from students at Colston’s Girls’ School, also in Montpelier, part of Venturers Trust and considering changing its name, The Dolphin School pupils have helped to shape the consultation as part of their Curious-city curriculum.
“Over the summer holiday, we encouraged our pupils to discuss the topic of a possible change to our name and/or emblem at home with their families,” said Kate Jenkins, Acting Principal.
“Since returning to school, the children have been learning about healthy discussion and debate and how there are often many sides to a story. The name of our school and our emblem are linked to Edward Colston and for too long Bristol recognised his philanthropy with the absence of any real awareness of where much of his wealth came from. It’s important that pupils in school learn about both sides of a story that is so deeply woven into the history of our city.”
The dolphin was one of the emblems associated with Edward Colston, from a mythical tale invented about one of his ships, in which a dolphin supposedly used its own body to plug a hole in the boat below the water line to stop the vessel from sinking.
The school uses the dolphin emblem that is found on the plinth of the statue of Edward Colston, which was pulled down on June 7.
Chair of Governors Chris Patterson added: “We’re really proud that our school community is representative of the city we live in and it’s important that the curriculum is relevant to the many cultures and faiths of our students and staff.
“All pupils should be able to see themselves represented in different lessons, no matter what race, ethnicity, culture or faith they identify with. We believe that all children from all backgrounds should have the same opportunity to succeed and an important part of this is having a healthy, truly representative curriculum. Through this consultation process, pupils will develop their understanding of democracy and by putting this into practice, they will be part of shaping the future of our school.”
In October, the current students, staff, parents/carers and governors of The Dolphin School will each cast a vote to decide whether or not the school should change its name and/or emblem, with the board of trustees announcing their decision by the end of October. “We hope that the wider community will take part in the process by completing the online questionnaire,” said Kate Jenkins.
“Our Curious-city curriculum is all about getting to know the city we live in.”