We are asking for your help in saving our institution, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry.

Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) has decided to change the historic name of Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry (BL) to QMUL Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. This decision has been made by the QMUL Senior Executive Team with no consultation with Barts and The London Students’ Association (BLSA) and against the wishes of students, staff, and alumni. 

This follows an orchestrated campaign from QMUL leadership to minimise and attack BL. From forcing historic BL sports clubs - among the founding members of some of the oldest tournaments in the country - to play in leagues under only the QMUL name, to rebranding the faculty logo and covering up any mention of BL on our campuses, and most recently creating additional conditions to restrict funding to the numerous sports clubs, societies, volunteering groups and our varsity, the Merger Cup. All these changes have come in the face of considerable student opposition, and the QMUL leadership have made these decisions aware of the negative impact it has had on students.

In 2019, a petition against the rebranding at the time received 2799 signatures from students, staff, and alumni, which was subsequently ignored by the QMUL Principal Colin Bailey and other members of the Senior Executive Team. While these changes themselves were concerning, it is equally alarming to see QMUL leadership refusing to engage the topic with the people their decisions directly affect.

The decision to erase our identity is an attack not only on medical history, but on a part of the heritage of this country. St Bartholomew’s Hospital was founded in 1123, making it the oldest remaining hospital in the country. The London Hospital Medical College was granted an official charter for medical teaching in 1785, making it the oldest purpose-built medical school in the country. The history of these institutions is the history of Barts and The London. 

Students, staff, and alumni from these institutions have been true pioneers. From William Harvey being the first to describe the circulatory system in detail, to Percivall Pott being among the founders of orthopaedics and first to describe the concept of environmental carcinogens, to James Parkinson first describing the disease that bears his name. From Sir Ronald Ross becoming the first Briton to win a Nobel Prize - one of eight from our faculty - to medical students from both colleges being among the first to treat prisoners from Nazi concentration camps, to BL students forming the largest student-led cohort in the NHS in the face of COVID-19. It is undeniable that BL is, and has been, a force for good. 

Barts and The London remains a strong and historic brand, recognised worldwide. An institution that should be cherished and protected. A name that is a credit to medical history. Changing this name is a clear decision from QMUL to dissociate the faculty from our historic past and the current community we are incredibly proud of. We know BL is a part of a diverse and progressive QMUL, but we believe our history, culture and identity should be preserved and celebrated. We therefore call upon QMUL leadership to abandon this attempt at erasing our history and to work with students, staff, and alumni to achieve this. As these persistent attacks on the BL identity continue, all it does is make it more difficult for students to identify closer with the University they are a part of.

Signing this petition helps show the depth of opposition to these changes, so please sign and share to reach as many people as you can. You can follow updates on this petition at https://www.bartslondon.com/wearebl