TWO Douglas schools are to mark the Queen’s 60 year reign with a jubilee name change.
From September, Murray’s Road Junior School will amalgamate with its feeder infants’ school Ballaquayle and be known as Scoill yn Jubilee, or in English, Jubilee School.
The name was chosen to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee this year.
Murray’s Road year five pupil Robyn Duke, 10, won a competition to design a new logo for the school, which reflected both the school’s new name and its Manx identity.
The best designs were voted for among the pupils themselves and those then went forward for final judging. Robyn’s winning design was selected by long-standing governer of both schools, Douglas Councillor Raina Chatel.
Head teacher for the new single school, Linda Green said: ‘The logo will be used on our new school uniform, which governors from both schools have decided on, and will also be part of our letter heading,’
Staff at both schools have been preparing for the amalgamation since February.
Financial systems for both schools are to be combined along with administration, classroom organisation, lesson delivery, diaries and daily routines.
Staff have been undergoing joint training and the children have been meeting each other, most recently at Ballaquayle School for a jubilee picnic and games.
Both schools also took part in last month’s Children in Song concert at the Villa Marina and the Celebration of Skipping at the National Sports Centre.
Both Murray’s Road, which dates back to 1899, and Ballaquayle, 1971, took their names from their surrounding areas. The amalgamation was advertised in February, and will be laid before Tynwald later this month.