This school is named after a fascinating man who had many careers. He was an MP for 32 years,1 a soldier and an important social reformer. He never lost his desire to make the world a better place. His career as a reformer began in 1729.
His first opportunity came when he became the chair of the parliamentary Goals Committee, 1729. He believed that criminals living in a different environment would thrive and become law-abiding. This was especially true of those imprisoned for debt.2 Debtors were only released when they paid their debt. Consequently, they were imprisoned for very long periods.
Oglethorpe was Georgia’s first governor from 1732. He stamped his authority on it as a social reformer. He banned slavery in 1735 because it’s brutal and amoral. He also banned alcohol, which he felt ruined many lives.
Oglethorpe’s beliefs about slavery were seen as bizarre. Slavery was normal in parts of the British empire. Oglethorpe opposed slavery 125 years before Abraham Lincoln. Slavery was introduced in Georgia in 1751 long after he’d returned to England and couldn’t do anything about it.3
He’s inspirational and would be proud to have schools named after him.4,5 His final years were spent in Cranham where he died aged 88 in 1785.
Notes
1 James Oglethorpe – Wikipedia This provides a good quick summary of his life
2 Marshalsea – Wikipedia The most famous victim of this was Charles Dickens whose father was imprisoned as a debtor. Charles Dickens – Wikipedia
3 History of slavery in Georgia – Wikipedia Astonishingly this was under pressure from a clergyman, George Whitefield, a founder of Methodism George Whitefield – Wikipedia
4 History – James Oglethorpe Primary
5 See the Oglethorpe group of schools in Georgia, USA Oglethorpe County School District – Wikipedia And there is a university Oglethorpe University – Profile, Rankings and Data | US News Best Colleges
Politics in Havering 