ABERGAVENNY residents have reacted angrily to a consultation to decide a new name for the town’s 13-19 through school.

The two week consultation was launched on Monday and invites people to chose between three options for the name of the the school which is set to open in 2024.

Being developed through the Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme, which is a One Wales commitment and a collaboration with Welsh Government, the school will be built on the existing King Henry VIII Secondary School site and combine the school with Deri View Primary to create Monmouthshire’s first all-through school.

The all-through school will include facilities for 1,200 secondary age pupils (11-16), 200 post-16 places, 420 primary school places, 30 full-time equivalent nursery pupils, including accommodation for over 70 pupils with complex neurodevelopment and learning needs within the school.

It aims to provide a range of services and activities beyond the school day to help meet the needs of its pupils, their families and the wider community.

Planning permission was granted for the school development earlier, despite rising costs and concerns from Abergavenny Town Council and Abergavenny Civic Society, that the design was ‘unimaginative and uninspiring’.

Councillors also expressed concern that there had been “no time to fully consider” a pre-application public consultation on the plans, as well as traffic management proposals at the site.

The two week joint consultation launched on Monday by Monmouthshire County Council and Abergavenny Town Council, invites residents and visitors to chose between three options for the name of the new school.

These are:

• King Henry VIII 3-19 School

• Deri View 3-19 School

• The Abergavenny Learning Centre.

The suggestion that Abergavenny’s 580 year old school could lose its identity as part of the redevelopment has caused anger among many residents, who point out that the historic school has survived a number of reorganisation in the past and retained its name.

“Why do we need to change the name of the school,” asked one Chronicle reader.

“Do not wipe out Abergavenny’s history on the whim of the misguided.”

“If people with an interest in the history of Abergavenny don’t vote we could be saddled with a generic name which will not reflect the fact that King Henry VIII was instrumental in providing education in Abergavenny and another part of our history will be lost.”

For others however, the name change is long overdue, with suggestions that breaking the link with the Tudor king would be a positive move.

“King Henry VIII was a wife killer and we should never have named a school after him in the first place,” said one local resident commenting on social media.

A spokesman for Monmouthshire County Council said, “The formal consultation opened on November 28 and will close on December 11.

The consultation is open to residents of Abergavenny and the pupils attending King Henry VIII and Deri View Primary Schools. The final decision on the name will be made by all councillors at a council meeting in the new year.

“The council appreciates the historical connection to the town of Abergavenny however feels appropriate to canvass the views of the community as this is a new school for the town involving the closure of both King Henry VIII and Deri View Primary Schools and not simply an extension of King Henry VIII.

“The community can express their views by completing the voting slips and inserting them into the ballot box outside the Market Hall.

“Parents or carers, as well as the young people attending both schools, can vote electronically using the link circulated to them.”

To take part in the consulation cast your vote before midday on December 10 by visiting the One Stop Shop at Abergavenny Town Hall or by clicking on https://bit.ly/3XtCrBz