Mill Hill School


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 for boys on 25 January 1807. They located it outside the boundary of London 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 close to Central London. A boarding school was opened in the house once occupied by Peter Collinson, with about 20 boys. The Rev John Atkinson was the first headmaster and chaplain until 1810.
Mill Hill School occupies a 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. The flora of Mill Hill was supplemented by the work of the amateur botanist Richard William Bowry Buckland, 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 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 OBE and David Smith.
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.
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. 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.
In March 2007, Mill Hill celebrated its. To mark the occasion, the school was granted a new coat of arms by Robert Noel, Her Majesty's Lancaster Herald.
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.

Houses

Mill Hill School is divided into houses. These are:

Boarding houses

Winterstoke House was converted into Grimsdell Mill Hill Pre-Preparatory School, in 1995.

Day houses

In January 2016, Frances King became the school's first female Head.
The following people have served as Head:
NameTenure
Reverend John Atkinson1807 – 1810
Reverend Maurice Phillips1811 – 1818
Reverend Dr John Humphreys1819 – 1825
Dr James Corrie1825 – 1827
George Samuel Evans1828
Robert Cullen1829 – 1831
Reverend H. L. Berry1831 – 1834
Thomas Priestley1834 – 1852
Reverend Philip Smith1852 – 1860
Reverend Dr William Flavel1860 – 1863
Reverend Philip Chapman Barker1863 – 1864
Reverend George Donald Bartlet1864 – 1868
Dr Richard Francis Weymouth1869 – 1886
Charles Arthur Vince1886 – 1891
Dr John David McClure 1891 – 1922
Maurice Leonard Jacks1922 – 1937
Dr Thomas Kingston Jerry1938 – 1940
Arthur Rooker Roberts1940 – 1943
Maurice Leonard Jacks1943 – 1944
Reverend Dr John Sheldon Whale1944 – 1951
Roy Moore CBE1951 – 1967
Michael Hart CBE1967 – 1974
Alan Fraser Elliot1974 – 1978
William Allan Phimester1978 – 1979
Alastair Carew Graham1979 – 1992
Euan Archibald MacFarlane MacAlpine1992 – 1995
William Winfield1995 – 2007
Dr Dominic Luckett2007 – 2015
Frances King2016 – 2018
Jane Sanchez2018 –

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, a registered charity under English law. The foundation offers education to boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in three schools. The foundation's other schools are:
In honour of Patrick Troughton the Mill Hill theatre was dedicated to the actor and named the Patrick Troughton Theatre in 2007.