Abraham Darby Academy also wants Haberdasher name change
A second school in Shropshire has announced plans to change its name to reflect its ‘historic links’.
Abraham Darby Academy, in Madeley, wants to change its name to Haberdashers’ Abraham Darby.
The grammar school, in Newport, said it hoped to better reflect its links with the Haberdashers’ Company, an ancient merchant guild of London.
But a petition against the name change has been signed by hundreds of people.
The school, in turn, has disputed how many of the signatories are genuine supporters of the school.
Abraham Darby Academy’s principal Lee Hadley has now written a letter to parents of the children who attend the school telling them of the intention to rebrand the school name from January.
In the letter, he says: “The world of education rarely stands still for a very long time but at present we are in a period of significant and multiple changes.
“One of the major changes to the educational landscape is encouragement from government that schools should become part of groups called ‘multi academy trusts’, or MATs.
“We are already in a MAT with Adams’, Newport.
“In order to strengthen and highlight our partnership with Adams’, to link us more obviously with other Haberdasher schools across the country and to emphasise the role of Haberdashers’ Company, governors have decided the Haberdasher name should have more prominence. I wholeheartedly support this.”
He said it was important for the MATs to remain consistent and in January the school will change its name to Haberdashers’ Abraham Darby.
The letter continued: “Like ‘Ab Dab’, ‘ADA’ will no doubt remain part of the vernacular for some time.
“In essence, what will change are letterheads, signs, etc. This will be a gradual process with a view to it being completed for us in September 2018.
“To those of you who may lament the decreasing prominence of ‘academy’, I would argue the original significance of this title has been lost.
“Our new name will signify to the local community that there is something a little different about our school.
“This difference is to a great extent driven by the ethos and values of our sponsors and, therefore, the increased prominence of their name is wholly appropriate.”
The petition which was launched against Adams’ Grammar School’s plans to change its name has been signed by hundreds of people.
