Campaign to ditch Batman name at top school

A TOP-performing public school in Melbourne’s southeast is dumping Batman from its list of house names.

Box Hill High School. Picture: Kris Reichl

A TOP-performing public school in Melbourne’s southeast is dumping Batman from its list of house names.

Senior students at Box Hill High School launched a campaign to ditch the name, along with Deakin, Forrest and Mawson, in favour of monikers “more reflective of the current community”.

A sketch of John Batman. Picture: State Library of Victoria

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It comes ahead of the renaming of the federal electorate of Batman to Cooper at the next election, and as activists push for Northcote’s Batman Park to be rebranded.

Box Hill High School principal Losh Pillay said students in years 11 and 12 had led the campaign.

“This is a great example of our students showing leadership and having a strong voice about the future direction of their school,” she said.

“After researching the current house names, our students felt strongly that we should have new names they could better connect with and are more reflective of the current community.

“As principal, I will make a final decision after the lengthy consultation process — hopefully by the end of this year.”

The school is set to ask students, staff, parents and the school council to “provide feedback” on a shortlist of names.

School council president Marcus Balon said “not everyone has agreed” during a student vote on whether the names should change but the debate had been respectful.

“Whatever the outcome, you love to see this,” he said.

“The debate has been done in a very mature and respectful way.”

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