School drops Winston Churchill and JK Rowling as house names after student body brands wartime PM a 'racist' and Harry Potter author a 'bully' in letter to parents about why they are no longer 'suitable'

• e-mail

A school has dropped Winston Churchill and JK Rowling as house names after students said they did not think they represented them.

Stunned parents with children at Seaford Head School in East Sussex received the letter this week slamming both famous figures.

The note - which was marked as being from students - said wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill was 'a figure who promoted racism and inequality, unfairly imprisoning and torturing many'.

It then turned its attention to Harry Potter author JK Rowling, saying it did not think she was a suitable representative following her comments on the trans community.

One parent, who did not wish to be named, said: 'I am surprised about Winston Churchill, I think we do need to honour his achievements in history.

'He helped us fight back the evil of Hitler's Nazi Germany - surely he deserves to be celebrated for this.'

Sir Winston Churchill and JK Rowling will no longer be names used for the schools houses

Seaford Head School's house system was dreamed up in 2016 and based on four icons

Seaford's house system was introduced in 2016 and still shows Churchill and Rowling on the school website.

The former PM's group has the motto 'Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm', a quote generally attributed to the WWII PM, although it cannot be found in his writing or speeches.

Meanwhile the world-famous British author's section carries the phrase 'It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be', which is said by Harry Potter character Dumbledore in The Goblet of Fire book.

Sir Nicholas Soames and His Wife Lady Serena Soames The Cartier Racing Awards

The school trumpets their achievements, stating 'The icons that these houses are named after perfectly represent the ethos of our school (chosen by the school council), a set of values that we hold as important and central to our beliefs.' 

Pupils can even get their house colours put above their school badge on their uniforms.

But the pair have now fallen out of favour with pupils and leaders at the former college. 

The letter read: 'Churchill could be considered an important historical figure.

'However, we are now more aware that Churchill was a figure who promoted racism and inequality, unfairly imprisoning and torturing many.

'Furthermore, as a school committed to stopping bullying and creating a safe environment, we no longer think that JK Rowling is a suitable representative, because of her recent words about the trans community.

'Intolerance and discrimination are treated very severely by our school and we do not want to promote anyone or anything that encourages such prejudice. 

The website of the school still shows the old houses and their corresponding famous names

'For these reasons, the student body and leadership team have decided to change the names of the houses, so that the house system reflects the local community, and so that each house can create a new collective identity based on shared values.

'To instill more positive values, and to bring the community together, the house names will be changed to local landmarks.'

The school's houses are currently named after famous historical, political and cultural figures.

It is understood that the houses named after Florence Nightingale and Nelson Mandela will not be changed in any way. 

But a decision has been made by Seaford Head's student body and leadership team to change these names, with it proposed that the houses will now be named after nearby geographical locations instead.

Possible new names include: Tide Mills House, Cuckmere Haven House, Friston House, Birling House, Beacon House, Hindover House, Blatchington House and Westmeston House.

The new names will be decided through a student vote. 

East Sussex County Council said it would not be commenting on the matter.

Richard Toye, author of Churchill's Empire, wrote that Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin was advised not to appoint Churchill on account of his outdated views.

Meanwhile, the war-time leader's doctor is reported as having said that 'Winston thinks only of the colour of their skin' when considering other races.

And the book 'Debunking the Myths of Colonisation: The Arabs and Europe', contains a quote from Churchill in his testimony to the Palestine Royal Commission

He is reported as saying: 'I do not admit for instance, that a great wrong has been done to the Red Indians of America or the black people of Australia.

'I do not admit that a wrong has been done to these people by the fact that a stronger race, a higher-grade race, a more worldly wise race to put it that way, has come in and taken their place.'

But former Mid Sussex MP Sir Nicholas Soames, grandson of Sir Winston Churchill, has previously defended his relative.

In 2015 he is recorded as saying: 'You're talking about one of the greatest men the world has ever seen, who was a child of the Edwardian age and spoke the language of (it).'

Harry Potter author JK Rowling was criticised after making a series of Tweets last summer.

She was accused of being 'transphobic' after taking issue with an article which used the phrase 'people who menstruate'.

In a post on social media, she said: 'People who menstruate.

'I'm sure there used to be a word for those people.

'Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?'

It was argued that 'trans men who have not transitioned still menstruate' and 'women are not defined by their periods'.

Stars of the Harry Potter series including Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson were among those to condemn her comments.

Emma Watson said: 'Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren't who they say they are.'

Following criticism of her Tweets, JK Rowling responded in a lengthy blog post.

She said she had 'followed the debate around the concept of gender identity closely' for several years and listed five reasons why she had felt the need to 'speak up'.

These included her charity, the Volant Charitable Trust, which 'helps fund charitable causes in Scotland, with an emphasis on women and children's issues'.

She also said her former role as a teacher led her to have an 'interest in both education and safeguarding'.

She added that her position as a 'much-banned author' in some parts of the world meant she was 'interested in freedom of speech and have publicly defended it'.