A SCHOOL in Taunton will have a new name when students return for the start of the next school year in September.

Following a consultation with parents and the community, it was agreed to change the name of The Taunton Academy to Pyrland School.

The Richard Huish Trust, of which the school is a member, chosen the new name to better reflect its link to the area.

Trust chief exeuctive John Abbott said: “Evidence suggests that schools work best when they have a well-established and trusted network that interconnects the work of the school with the community it serves.

 

"We know that a school has the greatest impact when it is supported, backed and recognised by its community as an asset that makes a real difference to the lives and families of the children who attend.

"Ultimately, we would want the school to be something the community talks about with warmth and pride.”

The name Pyrland dates from feudal times and is thought to refer to ‘ber-land’ which was land given to tenants in return for services.

Records suggest the school was built on the former Pyrland estate, now on Cheddon Lane.

It is in the Pyrland and Rowbarton council ward and there was previously a Pyrland Hall - now King’s Hall School - and nearby Pyrland Farm.

Mr Abbott added: “The name of any educational institution is an opportunity for it to identify and connect itself to the community it serves.

"It is primarily for this reason that we have repeatedly questioned The Taunton Academy as the name for our school.

"The main issue was that the current name had no sense of place or connection within the community it serves and was also too generic considering the now much broader landscape in Taunton.

"Recent changes, senior leader appointments and the documented cultural improvements that are being made at the school means it now feels timely to re-name the school and in doing so reconnect it back to the community.”

Pyrland School will be retaining the school logo but will phase out reference to the old name as existing signage is replaced as part of a maintenance schedule.

Students will be able to continue to wear their current uniform.

A new version will still include the school logo, but without the old name.

Headteacher Lisa Webber said: “Although our name is changing, our commitment to improving our school is as strong as ever.

"Pyrland School will have excellent staff, a brilliant enrichment offer and a growing number of talented, kind and polite students.”