In light of the worldwide Black Lives Matter movement, which is putting pressure on universities and schools to demolish statues of slavers, hundreds of parents and former students of a London school named after an 18th century slave owner are calling for it to be renamed in honour of one of Britain’s first Black headteachers.
A petition has been signed by more than 500 parents over the past week calling for Beckford School in West Hampstead to be renamed after former head teacher Beryl Gilroy. Gilroy, a Guyanese who emigrated to London as part of the Windrush generation, headed the primary school between 1969 and 1982.
The school is believed to have been named in the 1920s after William Beckford, a former Lord Mayor of London, who owned an estate in Jamaica with more than 3,000 slaves, or his son, an artist who lived off proceeds of the estate.
Following worldwide Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in the US in May, statues of slave owners have been torn down in a number of places including Bristol in the UK and several US cities. Floyd died at the hands of a US police officer.
According to the UK’s Evening Standard, parent Steve Hogarth launched a petition to both the school and the Camden Council online, stating that re-naming the school in Gilroy’s honour would “be the perfect way of addressing contemporary concerns while also honouring the school’s history of successful inclusion and diversity.”
Gilroy was described as an education expert. She died in 2001 at the age of 76 and was made an honorary fellow by the Institute of Education.
In addition to being a head teacher, Gilroy was a novelist and poet who The Guardian described in an obituary as “one of Britain’s most significant post-war Caribbean migrants.”
She took over at Beckford at around the same time that Yvonne Conolly became Britain’s first Black headteacher at a school in nearby Highbury.
The Evening Standard article said that along with all Labour-led London councils, Camden this month announced a cross-party review to re-examine statues, monuments and place names in the borough. The report said the school has confirmed that it will look to consult on a potential new name, and any formal renaming would take place in September 2021. Headteacher Sam Drake also told the Standard the school is already planning to paint a large mural to Gilroy.
Pioneering force
According to the Standard, former pupil Dominic Dawes, who attended the school between 1974 and 1982 during Gilroy’s tenure, said: “Beryl Gilroy was absolutely central in fostering this culture in the school and among the wider community.
“She inspired pupils, teachers and the community alike, and was a pioneering force in creating truly positive and caring community relations between people of many different backgrounds – and at a time when racism in Britain was still rife.”
“The name of Mrs Gilroy is a far more significant part of the history of Beckford school than that of William Beckford. Given the reason has already been taken to reconsider the name of the school… I and many other ex-pupils of the school believe there can be no more perfect solution than to name it after Beryl Gilroy. To do so would speak simultaneously to present concerns and past history, and would send a positive message about the school’s past, its present and its future,” he said.
The Standard quoted Drake as saying, “As a school, we stand together with the local authority in rejecting racism. We also believe in educating our children, so that we can move forward together towards an equal society.
“William Beckford is not an individual that we celebrate at school and there are no statues or paintings on the premises. In fact, most of the staff, including myself, were not aware of his significance until very recently.”
“Once Camden have reviewed the origin of the name and we are told that it is definitely linked to William Beckford, we will start the consultation.”
“Beryl Gilroy is a very significant figure in the history of Beckford Primary School and it [is] understandable that her name would be considered. In my first assembly I referred to her and the children all know about her history.”
Drake was further quoted as saying, “We will involve all of the school’s stakeholders: parents, governors, staff and of course children. However, the final decision will rest with the governing body. Camden have informed us that the formal renaming would probably take place in September 2021. This will allow us to take into consideration all of the required changes, including uniform and logo.”
The Standard also reported that calls have similarly been made to rename east London’s Branfil Primary School, which is named after a slave-trading squire, while Queens’ School in Bushey, Hertfordshire, has said it will rename a house named after Sir Francis Drake.
Leading private schools including Westminster School have been pressured to address curriculums accused of being “colonialist,” the article noted. The newspaper has previously reported that east London’s Sir John Cass Red Coat School last week called “an emergency meeting of the school’s Governing Body…to discuss the legacy of John Cass and consider a proposal to remove his statue and bust located on the school premises and to rename the school.”
Sir John Cass was a philanthropist and merchant who profited from the slave trade.
