The Headmaster of Howden Junior School in East Yorkshire has replaced the House names at his school with woke icons instead of national heroes.
Lee Hill, Headmaster of Howden Junior School (above), has recently replaced the school House names at his school with woke icons, such as Greta Thunberg, over military heroes, such as Admiral Lord Nelson.
Lord Nelson was a British Admiral who held a pivotal role in winning the Napoleonic Wars, due to his dominance of the sea. The other figures who have been removed are Sir Francis Drake, an explorer and naval officer who kept England safe from Spanish invaders, and Sir Walter Raleigh, an explorer, writer and entrepreneur.
Instead, Mr Hill decided that the new house names would reflect the school values of ‘Community, Courage, Curiosity and Care’. The new ‘woke icons’ are England footballer Marcus Rashford, climate activist Greta Thunberg, human rights activist Malala Yousafzai, and US poet Amanda Gorman, who delivered her poem ‘The Hill We Climb’ at President Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Hill attributed this decision to a former pupil who had “educated” him on the former House names’ links to slavery and colonialism. He stated:
“During the Black Lives Matter protests, I received a passionate and brave email from a former pupil. This pupil not only educated me about the history of the three house names … but also explained the impact of seeing these figures – who have links to slavery, oppression, and racism – had on her during her time at our school. Not only a brave e-mail to send to a white male in a position of power but also an e-mail that set off a chain of events.”
Mr Hill also went on to thank the former pupil, saying in this statement: “To Francesca, I want to say thank you for your courage – for making a stand, for being a role model to our school community and beyond.”
Hill commented on Twitter about his decision and the “courage” of a former pupil sending an e-mail to a school headmaster.
