Head of College: Mr Russell

Deputy Head of College: Ms Wellington

College Pastoral Manager: Ms Lyttle

William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833) was a British politician, a philanthropist (practice of helping people less well-off than oneself) and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780 and became the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire (1784–1812). In 1785, he underwent a conversion experience and became an evangelical Christian, resulting in major changes to his lifestyle and a lifelong concern for reform.

In 1787, he came into contact with Thomas Clarkson and a group of anti-slave-trade activists, including Granville Sharp, Hannah More and Charles Middleton. They persuaded Wilberforce to take on the cause of abolition, and he soon became one of the leading English abolitionists. He headed the parliamentary campaign against the British slave trade for twenty-six years until the passage of the Slave Trade Act 1807.

In later years, Wilberforce supported the campaign for the complete abolition of slavery, and continued his involvement after 1826, when he resigned from Parliament because of his failing health. That campaign led to the Slavery Abolition Act 1833, which abolished slavery in most of the British Empire; Wilberforce died just three days after hearing that the passage of the Act through Parliament was assured. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, close to his friend William Pitt.

All of the work that William Wilberforce had done over the years contributed towards the abolition of slavery. His campaigning changed the world and freed people from slavery. Subsequently, he changed the lives of many people and that of future generations.

Like Wilberforce, we must aim to make a positive contribution to our society and the world we live in, show compassion and have humility to be a good role model. We must believe that we can achieve anything – all you have to do is believe in yourself!