Doreen Lawrence calls for replacement of statue in memory of her son Stephen at West Country primary school

Pupils' work done on Stephen Lawrence Day at Trinity Church School, during Pepe Hart's time there.

Doreen Lawrence, the mother of the murdered black teenager Stephen, has said an academy trust should consider replacing the statue in his memory at a West Country primary school, whose removal during building work in 2016 has featured extensively on this website.

Meanwhile, Stephen’s brother Stuart told Education Uncovered that he was “disappointed and upset” about the affair, that the trust has never apologised to the family for what happened and that the trust’s decision to make a charity set up in Stephen’s memory as its charity of the year was a “small gesture to cover their backs”.

The trust denied this final point, although it did not respond to Stuart’s statement about it not having apologised to the family.

The detail

Education Uncovered has carried five stories since mid-August on the saga of the statue and various other initiatives at Trinity which were instigated under its former headteacher, Pepe Hart, but which were dispensed with after she left the school in 2015.

The statue in memory of Stephen was unveiled in 2013 by Baroness Lawrence. In 2015, Stephen’s mother returned to the school to open a quiet or “stilling” room also in Stephen’s memory, featuring pictures of Stephen, poems and art work on Jamaica - where Doreen and Neville, Stephen’s father, were born - and a supportive letter from Arsene Wenger, then-manager of Arsenal, Stephen’s favourite football team.

The statue was removed in 2016, with the academy trust which controls the school, called Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership, having said it was irrevocably damaged during building work. The trust has said the stilling room still exists, but Hart told this website she understands it is no longer decorated in the same way and that parents had said pupils were not aware of its existence.

Hart also introduced the marking in the school of “Stephen Lawrence day”, every year on Stephen’s birthday on September 13th. Hart also told me that this was no longer happening.

The trust’s decision to make the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust its charity of the year came after the coverage of these developments on this website, which itself was prompted by tweets by Hart, although the trust has not linked the move to this publicity.

Family reaction

Stuart Lawrence has taken a close interest in the affair, after it was discussed extensively on twitter. I asked him for a reaction.

In a statement, he replied: “Ms Pepe Hart introduced the idea of bringing my brother Stephen’s tragic story into the academy of Trinity Primary School. She introduced a quiet room in Stephen’s name and a statue was then commissioned and placed within the school grounds.

“This was all before Stephen Lawrence day was made official. Unfortunately, Ms Hart went on to pastures new, to later find out that the statue had been removed and the quiet room was no longer in use.

“She tried to find out why, which proved difficult. We were eventually informed that the statue had been damaged by builders and because of this they simply disposed of it. In regards to the quiet room established in Stephen’s name, we were never informed as to why this was removed.

“As Stephen’s family, we were never informed before any of these decisions were made, and never received an apology.

“Fast forward, and all of a sudden, the Stephen Lawrence Trust is being made charity of the year…Personally, I am disappointed and upset: Ms Hart had a great idea in terms of focusing on helping young people, enabling them to understand differences and be inclusive. This has now been robbed from future cohorts.

“I feel that making the trust charity of the year is a small gesture to cover their backs and also to now join the bandwagon of inclusivity because of current social and international issues, in the wake of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and so many more.

“We are yet to receive any definite proof of damage to the statue, information as to where it was disposed of, why the quiet room is no longer in use and an apology.”

I also asked Baroness Lawrence for a reaction. In a statement of her own, she said: “I am disappointed that the statue put up in my son’s memory has been destroyed [and] also the quiet room where children could use it for reading and reflection.

“In today’s society, we need to come together more than ever and for children to be able to use Stephen as a positive role model in inclusion and hope.

“It would be good if the academy would consider replacing the statue and the room.”

Trust response

In response, Alun Williams, Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership’s chief executive, said there would be a replacement sculpture, though there was no mention of it being specifically linked to Stephen Lawrence.  

He said: “As I have already said, we have been running a competition for a replacement sculpture that will symbolise peace, unity, friendship, etc. This will be commissioned and will replace the statue that was damaged.

“The quiet room does still exist as I have explained and is used by children across the school.”

Hart told me that there was no longer a plaque to Stephen on the door to the stilling room, suggesting it was no longer the Stephen Lawrence room.

I asked Williams whether the quiet room was still decorated in Stephen’s memory, or whether it had been changed, as I have been told by Hart. He did not respond.

Williams added: “I am disappointed that our adoption of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust has been seen as something we would do to ‘cover our backs’. We adopted the charity because we have focused on eradicating prejudice across the trust. The vision and values of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust are ones we could subscribe to and genuinely thought that the focus the charity has on supporting disadvantaged children in particular was something we really feel is close to our hearts.

“We have raised some £1,000 for the trust already, despite Covid-19 restrictions. Adopting the charity has also led to schools across the trust discussing with children Stephen’s story. Parents/carers have been informed, therefore raising the profile of the charity locally. I had hoped that this would be seen as a gesture of support and not negatively.

“The Stephen Lawrence day will be marked in 2021 across the trust.”

Hart said: “The statue dedicated to the life of Stephen Lawrence was significant. It is important we keep Stephen’s memory alive. Has the Lawrence family not suffered enough?”