Schoolgirls face ‘slave’ protest

SCHOOLGIRLS are being warned about wearing their uniforms in public after protesters targeted them over their school’s links to a 17th-century slave trader.

Pupils at Colston’s Girls’ School in Bristol have been told to ‘walk away’ if anyone criticises them in the street. Some may even be kept from leaving the school at lunchtime.

The school was founded in 1891 using a legacy from Edward Colston, a merchant and MP who traded in cloth, wine and sugar, but amassed a fortune from the slave trade.

Alastair Perry, the school’s headmaster, was forced to write to parents after several pupils were confronted by protesters. He said: ‘Members of the public have approached students to engage them in conversation about the history of the school, sometimes in a forthright manner. We will be speaking with all students to remind them of our advice to keep themselves safe when approached by strangers – not engaging with the individual, walking away and seeking support from school or a nearby adult.’

Mr Perry’s warning comes after pupils had to leave by Bristol Cathedral’s rear entrance last week as protesters gathered outside the annual commemoration service to Colston, who gave the modern-day equivalent of millions of pounds to Bristol.