Jack London attended Oakland High School, from 1895 to 1896, at age 19, after he returned from his voyage on the Sophie Sutherland. It had been five years since he had left school to help support the family, and at Oakland High he worked as a part time janitor in the evenings.
As an older student, he stood out as a curiosity to some and to others a pariah. Most students were from significantly more affluent backgrounds, with more refined social expectations. Jack was rugged and unconventional, but charming and motivated, not to mention athletic and attractive.
At 20, Jack left Oakland High to pursue a more accelerated program at the University Academy of Alameda, a prep school where students could finish high school in only two years.
While at Oakland High, some of Jack’s writings were featured in The Aegis, the student publication.
