A village primary is to launch a final bid on whether it will continue to mark the legacy of a slave owning laird.
Julie Bell, headmistress at Lochwinnoch Primary, is leading the debate on the future recognition of Colonel William McDowall.
It followed a campaign from a senior pupil whose grandfather was from Kenya.
Colonel McDowall, of Castle Semple, was a landowner, an MP and was Lord Lieutenant of Renfrewshire until his death in 1810.
But he also owned plantations is Grenada and St Kitts, using and selling in the slave trade.
The McDowall House at the primary school is named in his honour, and this has been challenged by its captain Erin.
The eleven-year-old wants it replaced, but her campaign has split the school.
A total of 52 per cent of families want to keep the McDowall House name.
A letter asking the school to revisit the issue was signed by more than 50 parents and now engagement is to begin with pupils after the summer.
A spokesman for Renfrewshire Council confirmed: “We commend Erin for the mature way she has raised awareness of this very important issue and fully support her efforts to engage the school in this matter. We are sorry the matter has not been able to be resolved by the end of the school year.
“The school carried out a survey both with pupils and parents, and then the wider school community, to reach a wider consensus on the way forward.
“The result was extremely close and concerns were expressed the consultation did not reach everyone effectively. As such the engagement was widened further through a number of different ways people could express their views.
“In recognition of this and in line with the school’s values, the head teacher decided to set up a group to discuss the matter at the start of the next school year to bring the matter to a conclusion, and Erin will be able to continue to contribute to that going forward.”
McDowall owned 13 enslaved Africans on his inaugural sugar plantation on St Kitts. By 1710, the number had reached 191, including 45 children. The historical researcher, Dr Stuart Nisbet, estimates that McDowall went on to own or control at least 1,000 slaves.
He and his business partner, James Milliken, were the Leeward agents for the Hannover, one of the earliest recorded Scottish slaving voyages.
When McDowall returned to Scotland, he shipped home more than a dozen slaves back to his land at Castle Semple.
Erin, who will attend high school in August, said: “I was quite shocked to find out everything, and optimistic other people would want change.
“I think it’s the school’s responsibility to educate and hopefully change the views of many people who hold outdated and racist beliefs.”
During her campaign she has also written to Tom Arthur MSP and Mhairi Black MP.
