HARRIS Federation – the company in line to take over Roke Primary as an academy – has gone ahead with its controversial plans to change the school's name, in the same week as a new head teacher was announced.
Parents received a letter on Thursday saying: "If the Secretary of State for Education decides that the academy should proceed, it will be known as Harris Primary Academy Kenley."
Although rumours had been circulating for weeks, a meeting at the school last week confirmed that Kate Magliocco – the current head of St Cyprian's Primary School in Thornton Heath – will lead the new academy in September.
The name-change proposal has sparked opposition from Roke as well as from parents and teachers at the nearby Kenley Primary School who say the name is far too similar to their own.
Georgina Catanach, Kenley Primary's head teacher, wrote to parents at the end of May to urge them to write to Harris.
"As you are aware Roke Primary School has been forced to become an academy," she said.
"I was dismayed to find out that their suggested name is 'Harris Primary Academy Kenley' and the new uniform is navy blue. It has been noted by parents at Roke that this is very, very similar to Kenley Primary, in name and uniform."
She even had to assure parents that Kenley would not be subsumed into a Roke academy.
"It is important that Harris Federation appreciate that there cannot be two schools named Kenley in the area," she said.
Harris have refused to even consider keeping Roke in the school's new name but have agreed to give their new academy a grey and red uniform rather than blue like Kenley's.
Kate Magliocco is currently headmistress of St Cyprian's – the only state-funded Greek Orthodox school in the UK.
The school was plunged into controversy at the end of last year when it banned a nine-year-old Muslim girl from wearing a hijab.
Mrs Magliocco said at the time that the board of governors had made the decision with support from the Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain and that the Muslim family had to abide by the school's strict uniform policy.
However, St Cyprian's, which became an academy last summer, was rated one of the best primary schools in Croydon, according to the latest league tables in January.
It jumped 25 per cent, making it one of the borough's most improved schools, and nearly half of its pupils also reached level five in English and maths.
Roke was put into "special measures" two weeks ago, forcing campaigners to concede the takeover by Harris was inevitable.
An official decision by the Department of Education is due to be announced next week.
