Prince Andrew High School in Dartmouth renamed Woodlawn High School

The Halifax Regional Centre for Education has announced Prince Andrew High School in Dartmouth, N.S., will be renamed WoodlawnHigh School.

The name change will take effect Aug. 1.

The school was named in 1960 to mark the birth ofPrince Andrew, the son of Queen Elizabeth II.

In February, Prince Andrewsettled alawsuit that accused him ofsexually abusing a 17-year-old girl supplied to him by financier Jeffrey Epstein. Prince Andrewprovideda substantial donation to the charity of his accuser, Virginia Giuffre, and declaredhe never meant to malign her character.

In a letter to families Monday, Elwin LeRoux, the regional executive director of education for HRCE, said the name was decided in consultation with school administration, the School Advisory Council, students, families, staff and the community.

"Our priority and purpose with the renaming of our school is to create an environment of safety and authentic inclusion for every student," said a report from the renaming committee.

"This was in response to questions and concerns from the school community about the appropriateness of the name Prince Andrew High School. Our school must feel like a safe place for everybody."

Other possibilities

In addition to Woodlawn High School, the names City of Lakes High School and Ponamogoatitig Academy were also in the running for top three names.

Other suggestions included naming the school after RCMP Const.Heidi Stevenson. She wasshot by the man who killed 22 people in Nova Scotia inApril 2020. Other suggestionsincluded:

• Viola Desmond High School.
• Wade Smith High School.
• Dr. Robert Strang High School.
• Gloria McCluskey High School.
• Mayann Francis High School.
• Pjila'si Academy.