Slave trader’s school drops his name from memorial service

A SCHOOL named after a slave trader has removed any reference to him from a service in his honour.

officials at Colston’s Girls’ School in Bristol have said the annual service of commemoration will instead include a ‘clear acknowledgement of the damage done by slavery’.

The academy school, rated outstanding by ofsted, is named after Edward Colston who was deputy governor of the royal African Company which shipped 100,000 African slaves to the West Indies and America in the 17th century.

Colston became one of Bristol’s most generous benefactors thanks to the fortune he made from the transatlantic slave trade between 1672 and 1698. But there has been growing controversy about the use of his name in recent years amid pressure from anti-racism campaigners.

In April the owners of the city’s Colston Hall concert venue decided to rename the building by 2020, following a major refurbishment, to remove the ‘toxic’ link.

The Colston’s Girls’ School service takes place every year in Bristol Cathedral and has traditionally involved pupils wearing a chrysanthemum which was Colston’s favourite flower. However the girls will not be required to wear the flower when the service takes place next month.

The change was confirmed in a message to the organisation rep--

Link: Colston’s Girls’ School resenting former pupils from the PA to principal John Whitehead.

‘over the last year the leadership and governors at Colston’s Girls’ have worked to make the commemoration service more inclusive and relevant to the students,’ she wrote.

‘After consultation with students from all year groups we have decided to remove all reference to Edward Colston from the service and we will no longer be asking the students to wear a chrysanthemum in his memory.

‘The focus of the service will be on the values of Colston’s Girls’ School throughout its existence and a clear acknowledgement of the damage done by slavery in the past and the present.

‘We intend to continue to work with the students and the wider community to review and update this event every year.’

The school, which has around 800 pupils aged 11 to 18, opened in 1891 and became an academy in 2008. It is understood that pupils and staff have been discussing the school’s use of Colston’s name.

He has been celebrated as one of Bristol’s major philanthropists, but his wealth came largely from his role running the transatlantic slave trade from London and Bristol. Colston was a key figure in the royal African Company which held a monopoly over the slave trade for almost 30 years until 1698 when a change in the law opened African trade to all English merchants.

Slaves were kept in unbearable conditions on ships and suffered dehydration, dysentery and scurvy. More than 20,000 died during the sea crossings and their bodies were thrown overboard.

Today Colston’s name appears on at least six streets in Bristol as well as three schools, pubs and student flats. There has been a suggestion that campaigners from the Countering Colston group will soon call for a statue of him in Bristol city centre to be torn down. It follows an unsuccessful campaign two years ago by students at oxford to have a statue of imperialist Cecil rhodes removed over claims it upset ethnic minority students.

But the decision to change the name of Colston Hall divided local politicians, with Conservative councillor richard Eddy accusing campaigners of being ‘historically illiterate’. And a 2014 newspaper poll found that almost 60 per cent wanted Colston’s statue to stay.

‘Damage done by slavery’