As you may or may not know, 426 years of history is about to be brought to an end with the renaming of the school and the crest we all know and cherish fondly. With the school now having academy status, the decision has been made by the current management and governor team to rename "Newport Free Grammar School" to the "Joyce Frankland Academy Newport". This new name bears no relation to the legacy requested by the schools Foundress Dame Joyce Frankland that the school should always be known as the "Free Grammar School of Newport". Adding to this disrespect, the new name doesn't even include her title “Dame”. Whether you remember it or even listened at the time, we were reminded of her will every year and to suddenly disregard this name at a whim is simply a huge disrespect of her wishes.The name is the legacy of the school and with the change in name it does not only draw a close to years of reputation (pre recent regimes) and history the foundations of the school were built upon but also the ON society and the traditions that come with it. Are they proposing the annual ON fixtures now become the Joyce Franklin Academyonian fixtures? Adding insult to injury, with the name change comes the scrapping of Frankland House to Thompson House after the Fred Thompson. So the history of all those who wore the colour of Frankland will soon be a thing of the past. Whether this petition is effective or not, Newport Free Grammar School gave me many memories and opportunities I will remember forever and I want my feelings felt at the proposed change to be known. If you feel the same, please sign this petition and forward to as many Old Newportonians as possible.