Message from the Headmaster

The end of the academic year is finally upon us, and there can be no better time to reflect upon the achievements of the past three terms. Once again, our pupils have excelled. We have seen some magnificent performances on the stage, including February’s wonderful production of Oklahoma! and some superb examination pieces, whilst the revival of the Chapel Choir was amongst one of the great musical highlights. The year’s cultural programme came to an end last week with Ben Glassberg conducting the London Youth Symphony Orchestra and Mill Hill School Choir in the Large, a full review of which can be found below. In sport, there have been excellent team performances at all levels, whilst a number of pupils have played at national and international level in sports ranging from rugby and swimming to cricket and athletics. The CCF received a glowing report from their Annual General Inspection, the Sports Leaders were as impressive as ever and, earlier this term, the School gained the Green Flag award for its environmental work. Through the efforts of many pupils, we have raised impressive amounts for charities including our overseas partnerships, a microfinance initiative and the Alford House youth club. As always, there have been trips to various corners of the world, and I would like to wish those who are about to depart for Tamil Nadu and Nicaragua well for their travels.

Throughout the year, the academic focus has been maintained and we are looking forward to the publication of the examination results in August, hopeful that the Upper Sixth Form will emulate the achievement of last year’s leavers, half of whose A levels were graded at A* or A. New academic initiatives have come thick and fast, including the introduction of the Sixth Form Extended Project Qualification; the establishment of the Sir James Murray Society for gifted pupils; and engagement with the Engineering Education Scheme. Meanwhile, we are looking ahead with excitement to the opportunities that the new five-day teaching timetable will present for additional enrichment activities on Saturday mornings from September 2012.

It has been a very good year at Mill Hill and I would like to congratulate our pupils upon their achievements and to thank the staff for their hard work and our parents for their support. We have what looks to be an excellent group of new pupils joining us in September, and there is every reason to think that next year will be another excellent one in NW7. Prior to next term, however, I hope that all of our families will have a happy, relaxing and sunny summer break.

Musical highlights

Musical events this year included the ever-enjoyable House Music Competition.  Winners included Abraham Wallfisch-Jacobs, Junior Solo winner; Charlotte Nichols, Senior Solo winner; Collinson House, Classical Ensemble winner; and Atkinson House, Group Song winner for a stunning rendition of ‘Oh Happy Day’. Weymouth House were the overall winners.

Mill Hill hosted its own 'Mill Hill's Got Talent' evening in support of Indian partner School, Sri Jayendra.  The event raised more than £1,200 and was ably hosted by Senior Monitor, Chening Duker.

The Farrow Competition began with heats over three evenings in late January, and culminated in a final of outstanding quality on the evening of the 3rd February in The Large. Tim Rogers was the guest adjudicator, and he needed every bit of his extensive experience as a West End musical theatre actor and opera singer to pick winners in each category.  Congratulations went to Emily Glassberg for winning the Hellmore Cup, awarded for the most outstanding junior performance, and to Rose Miller for winning the Farrow Cup, awarded for the best performance of the night.

March saw the Cross Foundation Charity Event where pupils from all three Foundation Schools came together for an evening of music, dance and drama. The event raised over £8,000 for Alford House, Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice and the National Autistic Society.

The end of an extremely busy musical year culminated with the superb 'LYSO at The Large' classical evening where new Senior Monitor, Ben Glassberg (pictured), bought a 45-strong orchestra to NW7. The London Youth Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ben, entertained the amassed crowd with pieces including:

Mussorgsky “Night on Bare Mountain”
Grieg “Piano Concerto” (1st movement)
Mendelssohn “Violin Concerto” (2nd and 3rd movements)
Vivaldi “Gloria” in conjunction with the Mill Hill Choir

Ben was also joined by three wonderful soloists who gave the audience a night to remember, all in support of our partnerships projects.  Nearly £2,000 was raised during the evening to add to the exceptional amounts of money raised throughout the year through various initiatives.

And there's more ...

Mill Hill’s production of Oklahoma! (pictured) was a huge success, selling out every night of its run. The show that put Rodgers and Hammerstein on the theatrical map in the 1940s, follows the fortunes of men and women setting up the new state of Oklahoma and takes a light-hearted look at the conflict between cowboys and farmers. The show was directed by Mill Hill’s Head of Drama David Proudlock, and the wealth of wonderful songs and dances were expertly presented by the cast and musicians. The two couples going through the torments of ‘getting hitched’ were played by George Richardson, Natalie Kosky, Olivia Bernstone and Ricki Horwitz-Crook.

Other events included Mill Hill’s Indian Summer where comedian come chef, Hardeep Singh Kohli, and Brighton band, Two Spot Gobi, entertained guests in support of Tamil Nadu.

The School has also been very active on the Eco front and recently won the Eco Schools Green Flag Award.  A wide range of projects, activities and initiatives took place to encourage pupils to ‘Go Green’. The main event was the visit by the Eco Schools assessor, Edel Riding, who subsequently judged that Mill Hill be awarded the Eco Schools Green Flag Status – the top award from this nationally recognised organisation.

Some 50 Lower Sixth pupils were instrumental in organsing the exciting Grimsdell Eco Project.  This project began last November and involved organising lessons to teach all the classes from Reception to Year 2 about saving the planet, one step at a time and how to do it.

2010/11 Lecture Series

This year’s lecture series was by far the most successful.

Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys (Professor of Genetics and Royal Society Wolfson Research Professor at the University of Leicester) (pictured) opened our 2010/11 Lecture Series, the Francis Crick Lecture.  Sir Alec gave a riveting account of the “eureka moment“ and subsequent development of DNA fingerprinting, and its vital importance in forensic science.

The Richard Dimbleby Address was delivered by intrepid Dutch journalist, Linda Polman. Linda talked about her recent experiences in war zones such as Rwanda, Afghanistan, Sudan and her searingly honest and often hilarious book, 'War Games: the Story of Aid and War in Modern Times'.

The Sir Titus Salt Lecture was presented by Nick Leslau. Nick, an old Millhillian and an entrepreneurial success, is best known as a ‘Secret Millionaire’ following his recent appearance on the Channel 4 TV series. This lecture was organised by Mill Hill’s Microfinance Initiative to raise awareness for the cause and through the event, they reached their target amount of £5,000.

Red Bull Racing’s Chief Aerodynamicist and first-time lecturer Peter Prodromou’s lecture on ‘F1 – the coming together of Science and Sport’ was truly spectacular. Drawing in an impressive crowd, Peter had gone to great lengths to create a fantastic media accompaniment to his lecture and he treated the audience to some spectacular racing clips that ‘drove’ his points home, as well as giving a virtual tour of the Red Bull factory in Milton Keynes.

Professor Steven Humphries, Director of the Centre for Cardiovascular Genetics at UCL, delivered the second of two Francis Crick lectures. His presentation gave the audience an insight into his work to identify genes that contribute to the development of heart disease by analysing the DNA of large numbers of healthy people and those who have the disease.

The final two lectures were delivered by our own members of staff, Deputy Head, Peter McDonough, and Housemaster, Peter Lawson. These new lectures featured their respective heroes, architect Ralph Tubbs and musician, Ray Davies. Pupils thoroughly enjoyed seeing their teachers deliver lectures out of their comfort zone but inspired two of our current pupils to want to deliver their own “hero lectures” in the 2011/12 season.

A year of sporting success

From rugby to cricket, from athletics to swimming, from netball to fives, Millhillians have had another fantastic year. 

Cricket: Adam Rossington, a current member of the MCCC squad, made his debut for the England U19 cricket team in a test series against Sri Lanka and continues to go from strength to strength. 

Athletes Jack Perry-Williams, Joe Sherry, Alex Warnakulasuriya, Gareth Kong, Marcus Godfrey, Naomi Kendal and Daniella Zimmerman were chosen to represent Barnet in the Middlesex Cross Country Championships and all have competed successfully in various Inter-House events.  Jack Perry-Williams also represented Great Britain at the European Champion Clubs Cup for Junior Men (under age 20) in the 3000 metres steeplechase event.

Emily Dean achieved a record-breaking time to claim gold in the UK Cold Water Swimming Championships, Alex Foster and Alex Conn won the plate at the Eton Fives Championship and our 1st XII Netball Team were once again crowned Borough Champions.

Rugby : Even though still only a member of the Mill Hill School Fifth Form, Ben Calder (pictured) played at scrum half for the 1st XV, for the duration of the 2010/11 season. The last time this happened was with current Wasps and England Saxons player, Tom Lindsay (Priestley 2001-2006). Ben gained confidence throughout the season and it was through challenging matches against Eton, Harrow and Bishop’s Stortford High School that helped this process. Ben, a member of the Saracens Academy and mentored by Moses Rauluni, worked his way through the regional trials representing London and South East England and then went on to represent England U16 in the International Rugby Festival at Wellington College, playing against Belgium, Scotland and North England. Ben can certainly be proud of his achievements on the pitch and we look forward to displaying his shirt on the changing room wall to join the other International Honours.

The School organised yet another successful Junior Tennis Open tournament for feeder Schools in conjunction with Gosling Sports Park, Welwyn, and took a squad of junior tennis players to La Manga, Spain, during the Easter break for an intensive training week.

The year also saw the launch of the new London Golf Academy at Mill Hill School. A fully interactive launch event took place in the Large where guests had the opportunity to enjoy refreshments and try their skills on our new Optishot golf simulator. They were then treated to an interesting and informative insight into the world of sports media by BBC golf correspondent, Iain Carter.

Another recent announcement is that Robert Treblecock is currently training with the England Ski Team.

This represents just a fraction of what our pupils have achieved over the last year and thanks go to everyone involved in organising and running the various sporting events, fixtures and tours.

Hot Topics

The Heated Issue of the White Poppy: This Hot Topic saw a departure from the normal format of the weekly lunch-time debates, with an issue debated by members of the Fourth Form with support of members of the Upper Sixth. The issue debated was whether or not the white poppies, produced by the Peace Pledge Union as a pacifist alternative to the traditional red poppy, should be allowed to be worn at the school on Remembrance Day in November. Lindsey Fransmann (McClure, Year 9), supported by Sophie Iliffe (Cedars, Year 12) argued that over the years the red poppy as a symbol had become inextricably linked with militarism and war, and as such is no longer simply a sign of remembrance. The opposition (pictured), Isobel Whitby (McClure, Year 9) and Sophie Loizou (McClure, Year 9), supported by Alex Alex Warnakulasuriya (Weymouth, Year 13), argued, however, that the white poppy itself was an insult to those who had lost their lives fighting for their country in the past and moved away from the essence of the idea of the red poppy which is to remember those who have died in war. At the end of the debate a vote was taken, with the opposition winning by 17 votes to 9.

How Gordon Brown Saved the World: A capacity audience packed into the McClure Music School to hear Lower Sixth Formers Nathaniel Barling and Andrew Moore present a vigorous defence of Gordon Brown’s premiership. Taking a broad overview of the world’s economic situation Nathaniel Barling was a confident and assured presenter. Barling was perfectly teamed with the urbane and witty Andrew Moore who focused on Brown’s performance during the darkest days of the world's banking crisis.

 

Old Millhillians in the news

Old Millhillian Sir Michael Bishop (School House 1955 - 1957) (pictured) was given a life peerage and now sits as a Conservative in the House of Lords. His new title is Lord Glendonbrook.

Katie Ardrey (Collinson 2007-2009) won a hockey scholarship for the United States. Katie now has a regular column in 'PUSH' hockey magazine entitled 'Katie's Letter from America'. She also recently visited the White House where she met President Obama.

Shiv Malik (Weymouth 1994-1999) co-wrote 'Jilted Generation' with Ed Howker - a book on how Britain has bankrupted its youth.

Dr Andrew Al-Rais (Weymouth 1994-1999) featured in ITV1's 'Surgery School'. This series follows junior doctors as they begin their first year of surgical training in busy London hospitals.

Michael Berwin (School House 2001-2006) recently won the Crossrail competition to design station platform seating.

A Fine Art Print of Old Millhillian Ben Kustow’s (Weymouth 2002-2007) painting of Barack Obama has been accepted as a gift during the US President’s State visit to the UK.

Edward Winfield (Weymouth 2002-2007) recently achieved his First at Peterhouse, Cambridge, and has now qualified for his MPhil in International Relations next year.

What we have to look forward to ...

The above represents just a fraction of what our pupils achieved or were involved in over the past academic year.  Many more reports, stories and highlights can be found on our website, through past editions of School Shout and through the School Magazine.

Coming up next term are the first in the 2011/12 Lecture Series and some exciting MHS Opera Society events:

Thursday 22nd September 2011, 6:30pm: Francis Crick Lecture I: Elizabeth Webb

Thursday 29th September 2011, 6:30pm: QMU Lecture: Dr Mark Glancy “But is it accurate? Historical Films and the Use of the Past as Entertainment”

Tuesday 11th October 2011, 6:30pm: Sir Titus Salt Lecture: Chris Roycroft-Davis

Saturday 5th November 2011, 7:00pm: MHS OPERA & BALLET SOCIETY: Marriage of Figaro at English National Opera, the Coliseum, London Tickets £16.25 each

Thursday 10th November 2011, 6:30pm: Richard Dimbleby Address: General Sir Mike Jackson presents “General Reflections”

Saturday 12th November 2011, 7:00pm: MHS OPERA & BALLET SOCIETY: Eugene Onegin at English National Opera, the Coliseum, London Tickets £22.10 each

Wednesday 23rd November 2011, 6:30pm: Francis Crick Lecture II: Professor Bobby Gaspar, Professor of Paediatrics and Immunology, presents “'From genes to genetic medicines'

Thursday 1st December 2011, 6:30pm: Sir James Murray Lecture: Sir Andrew Motion presents “The Cinder Path”

Saturday 10th December 2011, 2:30pm (Matinee Performance): MHS OPERA & BALLET SOCIETY: The Nutcracker at English National Opera, the Coliseum, London Tickets £10.00 each for Row A, £15 each for Rows E to H

CLICK HERE to book for any of the above events.

The full School Calendar will appear on the website later in the Summer.