@lorenlepton I definitely want to emphasize kicking up a fuss, and a big one. I know first hand and through helping students, that many folks in HR, or school administraton positions like to claim that deed polls aren't legally binding documentation.

But they are. My advice is once you've made and signed, use this to get a new passport with your new name. Once faced with a passport, there is nothing they can do to dispute your name - they cannot pretend a passport isn't legal documentation.