Gaywood's Howard Junior school to change name to Harry Kane Junior School if England wins World Cup
A primary school plans to change its name to Harry Kane Junior if England win the World Cup.
If the ‘Three Lions’ win the tournament, which starts in Qatar on Sunday, the name of Howard Junior School in Gaywood will be changed to honour the England captain.
The idea came from a school council meeting where pupils and head teacher Gregory Hill made the momentous decision.
The change will definitely be in place during the tournament and the school’s logo has even been changed.
Mr Hill has given permission for children to watch England’s opening game against Iran at 1pm on Monday.
He said: “Football is all about learning about different cultures and respect and has a really good drive on anti-racism too.”
He added: “Harry Kane is an excellent role model for students and an ambassador of many charities.”
The school is preparing for the game, with pupils dressed as lions, and banners and decorations around the school.
“If we win now, no child will see this again in their lifetime, so why not go for it and have a tribute to Harry Kane?” Mr Hill added.
Each child has Harry Kane badge and one teacher at the school has even been recognised as the UK’s number one Gareth Southgate teacher lookalike.
“He’s dressed up as Gareth and walks around with a cardboard cut-out of him,” added Mr Hill.
“We haven’t won the world cup since 1966, if we do win we are going to permanently change the name of the school. If we lose, we’re going back to Howard Junior School.
“We’re behind Harry and the England squad and Howard is going to give as much cheer as possible, our voice is small but its mighty, we’re going to tweet, sing and dance.”
Mr Hill said that he told students about how he grew up living nearby to Harry Kane and David Beckham in North East London, which sparked the enthusiasm for the World Cup.
“I told the children that I grew up in Chingford, and I’m the same age as David Beckham. He went to Chase Lane School and I went to Larksford. I remember seeing him at the park.
“Harry Kane is a bit younger than me but he went to the same Primary School as I did.”