A BASINGSTOKE school will change its name after becoming part of an academy trust, sparking criticism from parents.

Aldworth School, in Western Way, will be renamed to The Blue Coat School to 'establish an exciting new phase in the school's history'. 

The changes were detailed in a letter sent to parents on Wednesday, April 24 from Sir Andrew Carter, CEO of the South Farnham Educational Trust (SFET).

The school will transfer from Hampshire County Council to the SFET on Saturday, June 1, a trust of eight schools across Hampshire and Surrey, including Brighton Hill Community School in Basingstoke.

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Basingstoke Gazette: Left: Sir Andrew Carter, Right: Aldworth School

As part of the leadership change, Mr Carter said the trust reviewed the school's current name, named after Richard Aldworth, a merchant who left money in his will to establish two Blue Coat Schools, one in Basingstoke and one in Reading.

The schools were named after the blue uniforms their pupils wore, with a plaque outside Aldworth School commemorating the original school.

Mr Carter said: "We are terribly keen as a trust that schools remain part of their community, and Aldworth was famous for his blue coat school. The stone at the front of the school will become even more significant [with the name change]."

However, parents at the school have raised concerns about the change saying it is a 'waste of money' and are worried about it 'losing its identity'. 

One parent, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: "I grew up in Basingstoke, lived here all my life and it was always well known, it’s a shame that it's changing its name, it's a totally unnecessary change.

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"The kids feel like their identity with Aldworth is lost to something fairly generic."

The parent added that the school underwent a rebrand in 2020 with a new logo and uniform, calling another change 'frustrating'.

She continued: "My older son that left passed his uniform to the younger one, I can’t do that now. There's a time when I have to buy again, a new uniform."

Another parent, with a daughter in year 7, said: "Costs involved in the name change should be put towards current education for the children as schools across the country are all expressing that the budget allocated isn't always enough to provide a better standard of education, so why waste money of designing a new logo, erecting signage and implementing another new uniform."

A third said: "There are Blue Coat schools throughout the country and losing the Aldworth name is a little sad."

In the letter sent to parents, Mr Carter emphasised that students will not need a new uniform, rather it will be 'gradually introduced over time'.

"We want to restore the school to be one of the leading education settings in Basingstoke," he added.

As part of the changes, headteacher Chris Rice will leave Aldworth on May 31, with Jane Halsey, deputy head at Brighton Hill, serving as an interim head until a permanent replacement is selected.