Mill Hill School
| Mill Hill School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
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The Ridgeway, Mill Hill , NW7 1QS England | |
| Coordinates | 51°37′08″N 0°13′50″W / 51.6190°N 0.2305°WCoordinates: 51°37′08″N 0°13′50″W / 51.6190°N 0.2305°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public school Independent School Day and Boarding School |
| Motto | Latin: Et virtutem et musas (Instilling values, inspiring minds) |
| Established | 1807 |
| Founders | Committee of Nonconformist merchants and ministers, including John Pye-Smith |
| Local authority | Barnet London Borough Council |
| Department for Education URN | 101367 Tables |
| Chair of Governors | Elliot Lipton |
| Head | Jane Sanchez |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Age range | 13–18 |
| Enrolment | 1,495[1] |
| Capacity | 1,661[1] |
| Campus size | 120 acres (49 ha) |
| Houses | 13 |
| Colour(s) | Blue and Red |
| Affiliation | Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference |
| Alumni | Old Millhillians |
| Website | www |
Mill Hill School is a 13–18 mixed independent, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.
History[]
A committee of Nonconformist merchants and ministers, including John Pye-Smith, founded the school[2] for boys on 25 January 1807. They located it sufficiently distant of London at that time, because of "dangers both physical and moral awaiting youth while passing through the streets of a large, crowded and corrupt city". The school is in peaceful, secure and rural surroundings, but by today's standards very much within Greater London. A boarding house was opened in the residence once occupied by Peter Collinson, with about 20 boys. John Atkinson was the first headmaster and chaplain until 1810.[citation needed][a]
Mill Hill School occupies a 120-acre (49 ha) site, part of which formed the gardens of Ridgeway House, the house of the botanist Peter Collinson. He was one of the most important importers of rare and exotic plants into English gardens. Many of the species that he introduced to Mill Hill in the 18th Century continue to flourish today in the grounds of the School. In 1746 Collinson planted Britain's first hydrangea on the grounds, now located adjacent to School House.
The estate was purchased by the botanist Richard Salisbury in 1802, Ridgeway House became the setting for a long-running scientific dispute between the new owner and his guest, James Edward Smith.[4] The flora of Mill Hill was supplemented by the work of the amateur botanist Richard William Bowry Buckland (died 1947), governor of the foundation from 1878 to 1889, who cultivated a garden in the south-west of the school's grounds for the enjoyment of future generations. He wrote in his diary:
In years bygone I pray to thee,
This willow here, my legacy
As I have sat, pray sit thee.
In shaded splendour
Millhillians; rest hither.— (signed Richard Buckland)
In 1939, Mill Hill School's premises were taken over by the British government and the school was evacuated to St. Bees School in Cumberland for the duration of the Second World War. Collinson House, a school for girls, was named for it. A St Bees Association was founded in commemoration of this period of evacuation in the school's history by Michael Berry and David Smith.[5]
Mill Hill first admitted sixth form girls in 1975 and became fully co-educational in 1997. The BBC news website usually uses a picture taken at Mill Hill School for articles about boarding schools.[6][7]
In 2005 the school was one of 50 of the country's leading independent schools which were found guilty of running an illegal price-fixing cartel, exposed by The Times. Together they had driven up fees for thousands of parents.[8] Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000, and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling three million pounds into a trust. It is to benefit persons who were students at the schools during the cartel period.[9]
In March 2007, Mill Hill celebrated its bicentenary. To mark the occasion, the school was granted a new coat of arms by Robert Noel, Her Majesty's Lancaster Herald.[10]
In 2018, the school experienced controversy when it was featured in the music video of London rapper Stefflon Don. In it, she was shown nude in the changing room showers, dancing on tables in classrooms, and smoking marijuana in the dormitories.[11][12][13]
Houses[]
Mill Hill School is divided into houses. These are:
Boarding houses[]
- Burton Bank – Named to commemorate its original position on Burton Hole Lane
- Collinson – Named after Peter Collinson, who once owned what is now the estate
- Ridgeway – Peter Collinson's original house on the site
- New – Named to reflect the date of its founding in 2017, at which point it was the newest house
- St Bees – Named after St Bees, the Cumberland school to which Mill Hill pupils were evacuated during World War II
Winterstoke House was converted into Grimsdell Mill Hill Pre-Preparatory School, in 1995.
Day houses[]
- Atkinson – Named after the first headmaster, John Atkinson
- Cedars – Named in honour of the cedars planted by Peter Collinson
- McClure – Named after Sir John McClure, headmaster at the turn of the 20th century
- Murray – Named in honour of Sir James Murray, teacher and longtime editor of the Oxford English Dictionary; who began compiling his dictionary while a master at Mill Hill
- Priestley – Named after headmaster Thomas Priestley
- School House – Named after Tite's famous building constructed in the 1820s
- Weymouth – Named after headmaster Richard Weymouth
- Winfield – Named after headmaster William Winfield
Heads[]
In January 2016, Frances King became the school's first female Head.[14]
The following people have served as Head:
| Name | Tenure |
|---|---|
| John Atkinson | 1807 – 1810 |
| Maurice Phillips | 1811 – 1818 |
| John Humphreys | 1819 – 1825 |
| James Corrie | 1825 – 1827 |
| George Samuel Evans | 18281 |
| Robert Cullen | 1829 – 1831 |
| H. L. Berry | 1831 – 1834 |
| Thomas Priestley | 1834 – 1852 |
| Philip Smith | 1852 – 1860 |
| William Flavel | 1860 – 1863 |
| Philip Chapman Barker | 1863 – 1864 |
| George Donald Bartlet | 1864 – 1868 |
| Richard Francis Weymouth | 1869 – 1886 |
| Charles Arthur Vince | 1886 – 1891 |
| John David McClure (later Sir) | 1891 – 1922 |
| Maurice Leonard Jacks | 1922 – 1937 |
| Thomas Kingston Derry | 1938 – 1940 |
| Arthur Rooker Roberts | 1940 – 1943 |
| Maurice Leonard Jacks | 1943 – 1944 |
| John Sheldon Whale | 1944 – 1951 |
| Roy Moore | 1951 – 1967 |
| Michael Hart | 1967 – 1974 |
| Alan Fraser Elliot | 1974 – 1978 |
| William Allan Phimester | 1978 – 1979 |
| Alastair Carew Graham | 1979 – 1992 |
| Euan Archibald MacFarlane MacAlpine | 1992 – 1995 |
| William Winfield | 1995 – 2007 |
| Dominic Luckett | 2007 – 2015 |
| Frances King | 2016 – 2018 |
| Jane Sanchez | 2018 – |
^1 Evans served as head from January 1828 to June 1828.
Architecture[]
Chapel[]
Unveiled in 1896, the school chapel is a basilica in form. The architect was Basil Champneys, well known for his work at the University of Oxford and Winchester College.
School House[]
Designed by Sir William Tite, famous for his work on the London Royal Exchange, School House was erected in 1825 and is described as being in the Greco-Roman style.
Boarding houses[]
Although the number of day pupils has risen over recent years, both full and weekly boarding at Mill Hill is still possible.
Faculties and other[]
The school occupies a number of buildings within its site of both traditional and modern styling.
Management[]
The school is run by the Mill Hill School Foundation,[15] a registered charity under English law.[16] The foundation offers education to boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in four schools. The foundation's other schools are:
- Belmont School – a day school for pupils aged 7–13. Head: Leon Roberts
- Grimsdell – a pre-preparatory day school for pupils aged 3–7. Head: Kate Simon
- The Mount School – a mixed day and boarding school for international pupils aged 11–16. Head: Sarah Bellotti.
- Cobham Hall School - an independent day and boarding school for girls in the English parish of Cobham, Kent. Head: Wendy Barrett.[17]
Notable alumni[]
 | This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. (August 2021) |
- Michael Bishop, Baron Glendonbrook, businessman
- Jasper Britton, actor
- Russell Brain, 1st Baron Brain, neurologist
- David Buck, actor
- Richard Berengarten, poet
- Francis Cammaerts
- James Challis, astronomer
- Ernest Cook, English philanthropist and businessman (grandson of Thomas Cook)
- Chris Corner, producer and songwriter
- Francis Crick, A sculpted bust of Francis Crick by John Sherrill Houser, which incorporates a single 'Golden' Helix, was cast in bronze in the artist's studio in New Mexico, US. The bronze was first displayed at the Francis Crick Memorial Conference (on Consciousness) at the University of Cambridge's Churchill College on 7 July 2012; it was bought by Mill Hill School in May 2013, and was displayed at their inaugural Crick Dinner on 8 June 2013.
- Misha Crosby, director, actor and producer.
- Richard Dimbleby, broadcaster
- Sophia Dunkley, international cricketer
- John Richard Easonsmith, officer
- Ivor Malcolm Haddon Etherington, mathematician
- David Dayan Fisher, actor
- Seb Fontaine, house music DJ
- Felix Francis, author of the 'Dick Francis' novels
- Nicholas Franks, Professor of Biophysics and Anaesthetics at Imperial College London
- Ben Glassberg, conductor [18]
- Inglis Gundry, composer, novelist, musicologist, music pedagogue and writer
- Tanika Gupta, playwright and scriptwriter
- Joseph Hardcastle, Liberal Member of Parliament
- Sir Norman Hartnell, fashion designer
- Hartley Heard, cricketer
- Thomas Helmore, choirmaster and choral historian and writer
- Francis Heron, England footballer and FA Cup winner
- Hubert Heron, England footballer and FA Cup winner
- Peter Youngblood Hills, actor
- Stanislav Ianevski, actor
- Chaz Jankel, musician
- Simon Jenkins, newspaper columnist, editor and author
- Robert Evan Kendell, psychiatrist
- Evgeny Lebedev, owner of Independent and Evening Standard newspapers
- Keith Levene, musician, Public Image Limited
- Nick Leslau, businessman
- Tom Lindsay, Rugby Union Player
- Malcolm Mackintosh, Special Operations Executive operative and intelligence analyst
- Norman Macrae, British journalist, former Deputy Editor of The Economist
- Ernest Maddox, eye surgeon and inventor of numerous optical instruments such as Maddox rod and Maddox wing
- Bob Marshall-Andrews, politician
- Harry Melling, actor
- Thanos Papalexis, businessman
- Sajith Premadasa, Sri Lankan politician
- Adam Rossington, Middlesex cricketer
- Paul Sandifer, neurologist
- Vir Sanghvi, journalist, columnist, and talk show host
- Ernest Satow, British scholar, diplomat and Japanologist
- Daniel Sharman, actor
- Henry Shaw, botanist
- Tulip Siddiq, Labour Member of Parliament [19]
- George Spencer-Brown, mathematician
- Roger Spong, international rugby union footballer, England and Great Britain
- Mitchell Symons, journalist and writer
- Sir Denis Thatcher Bart., husband of the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
- David Tinker, Royal Navy officer killed in the Falklands War
- Lord Toulson, Justice of the Supreme Court
- Patrick Troughton, actor
- Austin Vince, long distance adventure motorcyclist
- Eric A. Walker, Professor Emeritus of Imperial History at the University of Cambridge
- Herbert Ward, explorer, writer and sculptor, whose statue Grief was presented to the school by the artist[20]
- Sir Frank William Wills Kt., architect, surveyor and Lord Mayor of Bristol. He was also a member of the Wills tobacco family.
- Sir George Alfred Wills Bt. businessman and chairman of Imperial Tobacco
- William Wills, 1st Baron Winterstoke, businessman, Liberal politician, High Sheriff of Bristol & 1st chairman of Imperial Tobacco
Patrick Troughton Theatre[]
In honour of Patrick Troughton the Mill Hill theatre was dedicated to the actor and named the Patrick Troughton Theatre in 2007.
References[]
Notes
- ^ John Atkinson was later head of Wymondley College.[3]
Citations
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Mill Hill School Foundation". Get information about schools. GOV.UK. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
- ^ A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 1
- ^ "Wymondley Academy (1799-1833)". Dissenting Academies Online. Queen Mary Centre for Religion and Literature in English. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- ^ Boulger, George Simonds (1897). . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. 50. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
sources: Journal of Botany, 1886.
- ^ "Evacuation of Mill Hill School to St Bees". The St Bees Association. Archived from the original on 25 May 2005.
- ^ "Private sector 'to loan teachers'". BBC News. 26 May 2007.
- ^ Smith, Alison (3 January 2015). "Private schools 'feel downturn". BBC News.
- ^ Halpin, Tony (10 November 2005). "Independent schools face huge fines over cartel to fix fees". The Times. London, UK. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- ^ The Office of Fair Trading: OFT names further trustees as part of the independent schools settlement Archived 2 April 2014 at the UK Government Web Archive, oft.gov.uk; accessed 3 January 2014.
- ^ "The Coat of Arms of Mill Hill School", millhill.org.uk; accessed 13 December 2020.
- ^ https://news.sky.com/story/mill-hill-school-seeks-legal-action-over-rapper-stefflon-dons-explicit-music-video-11479413[bare URL]
- ^ https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-45283275[bare URL]
- ^ https://www.theguardian.com/music/shortcuts/2018/aug/22/stefflon-don-video-teaches-private-school-a-lesson[bare URL]
- ^ King, Frances. "Mrs Frances King". Mill Hill School. Archived from the original on 19 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
- ^ Mill Hill School Foundation
- ^ "THE MILL HILL SCHOOL FOUNDATION, registered charity no. 1064758". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
- ^ "Cobham School" (PDF). Retrieved 23 February 2021.
- ^ Alumni, Mill Hill School. "Ben Glassberg New Principal Conductor At Glyndebourne". Mill Hill Alumni. Mill Hill School. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ https://alumni.millhill.org.uk/news/where-are-they-now/47/47-Tulip-Siddiq[bare URL]
- ^ Grief at Mill Hill[permanent dead link]
Further reading[]
- Braithwaite, Roderick (2006). 'Strikingly Alive', The History of the Mill Hill School Foundation 1807–2007. Chichister: Phillimore & Co. ISBN 978-1-86077-330-3.
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mill Hill School. |
- 1807 establishments in England
- Boarding schools in London
- Educational institutions established in 1807
- Independent co-educational schools in London
- Independent schools in the London Borough of Barnet
- Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference
- Mill Hill
- People educated at Mill Hill School