We won’t drop slave trader from our name, says top girls’ school
A SCHOOL named after a slave trader is to resist calls from activists to change its name.
Colston’s Girls’ School, in Bristol, said there was no benefit in ‘obscuring history’ and said instead it wanted students to ‘engage thoughtfully with the past’.
The school, one of the best-performing in the region, has been under pressure to drop the controversial name over claims it is offensive to ethnic minorities.
Edward Colston was a prominent slave trader but also donated considerable amounts to the school and is known as one of Bristol’s leading philanthropists.
Campaigners say much of his fortune came from the misery of Africans. The concert venue Colston Hall – a target for activ- ists for decades – will reopen in 2020, after refurbishment, with a new name. And a primary school bearing Colston’s name has also said it is consulting on a change.
But yesterday, CGS said in a letter to parents it would be keeping its name.
‘It has been suggested that Colston’s Girls’ School should change its name in order to remove the association with Edward Colston,’ it said.
‘We have considered this suggestion and we have listened carefully to views on both sides. After much discussion, it has been agreed that it would not be appropriate to rename the school.
‘There is no doubt that Colston’s Girls’ School exists today as an outstanding school... because of the financial endowment given by Edward Colston. We see no benefit in denying the school’s financial origin and obscuring history itself.
‘To the contrary, by enabling our students to engage thoughtfully with our past, we continue to encourage them to ask ques- tions about present-day moral values and to stand up for what they believe is right.’
Colston became an official of the Royal African Company, which then held the monopoly in Britain on slave-trading, in 1680.
At that time, London was the main slavery centre in Britain, but in the 1730s and 1740s, Bristol took its place. The slave trade was abolished in 1807. There is an international campaign to get universities and cities to remove references to slave traders, colonialists and figures with racist views.