Newport Haberdashers' Adams School to drop Clive House name

The Shropshire grammar school said "nobody" disputed Robert Clive behaved in ways "now generally regarded as entirely unacceptable"

A grammar school says it will change the name of one of its houses in light of the Black Lives Matter protests.

Clive House at Haberdashers' Adams School in Newport is named after Robert Clive, widely credited with engineering British colonial rule in India.

Known as Clive of India, he was a Major General in the East India Company.

A number of organisations have sought to distance themselves from historical figures linked to slavery in recent weeks.

Several prominent universities have either changed the name of buildings or announced reviews to that end.

Across the UK, anti-racism protests have been sparked by the death of George Floyd, the black American who died in the custody of Minneapolis police.

Although Shropshire-born Clive is not directly connected with slavery, the school said "nobody disputes that he behaved in ways that are now generally regarded as entirely unacceptable".

It added that unlike some figures "what we deplore about Clive was central to his career and fame".

Known as Clive of India, Robert Clive also served as MP and mayor for Shrewsbury

At the Battle of Plassey in 1757, Clive and his forces defeated the Nawab of Bengal. This led to the East India Company controlling the region, then expanding in future years.

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While up to a third of the population died in the Bengal famine of 1770, Clive returned to London a wealthy man.

Haberdashers' Adams School, established in 1656, said it had received 830 responses to a consultation to change the name of Clive House, with a narrow majority backing the move.

"Making explicit our revulsion at the actions of historical figures is one (amongst many) ways of reinforcing the message that racism has no place in our school or society," it said

Adams added it would also incorporate more black history into its teaching in future.

The school said in choosing a new name it would "wish to identify local people who have made significant contributions to public life, and whose achievements exceed their failings, preferably by a large margin".

It said the name change would take place next year, following another consultation.