Mill Hill School

Houses

Mill Hill School is divided into houses. These are:

Boarding houses

Day houses

Winterstoke House was renamed as Grimsdell Pre-preparatory School in 1995.

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 J Atkinson was the first headmaster and chaplain until 1810.

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. 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 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.

On 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.

Heads at Mill Hill School

In January 2016, Mrs. Frances King became the first female Head of Mill Hill School.

The following have been Heads at Mill Hill School:

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.

Bicentennial and sesquicentennial celebrations

The school celebrated its bicentenary year during 2007. To honour this landmark in the school's history a service was held at St Paul's Cathedral. Additionally, the school held the visit of HRH Countess of Wessex to officially open the school's new Favell building. An Acer x freemanii was planted in her honour adjacent to the School House garden.

The anniversary was further marked by the publication of 'Strikingly Alive', The History of the Mill Hill School Foundation 1807–2007 by School Historian, Roderick Braithwaite; the school's Archivist is Dr. Pamela Johnson.

The school was also visited by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on its 150th anniversary in 1957. This was commemorated by the planting of a Cedar on Top Terrace (the grassed area in front of the School house portico), in her honour.

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:

Rugby

Mill Hill School has a range of sports. The school is traditionally known for its main sport, Rugby union, whose colours are chocolate brown and white. Rugby has been played at Mill Hill School since 1869. In 1930, three ex-pupils (Peter Howard, Roger Spong and Wilf Sobey) played in the England rugby team for a number of matches.

Notable alumni

The 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.