The Portico
FEBRUARY 2025
Welcome to the �irst edition of The Portico, our supporter newsletter.
I am really excited to share with you insights into life at Mill Hill and news about the difference your support is making. In this edition you will find:
• An update from our CEO
• Highlights from the Good Schools Guide review
• An interview with Head of Performance Rugby, Chris Bajak
Our benefactors’ reception in December was a really special occasion with OMs and parents joining us. The choir gave a stunning performance at the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols, where one of our bursary pupils, Antonio, delivered one of the readings. You will hear more from him as you read on too.
I hope you enjoy finding out about what has been going on at Mill Hill and the impact of your support.
With sincere thanks and very best wishes,
Lucia Hull Director of Development lucia.hull@mhsfoundation.uk
PS I’d love to hear your feedback on the newsletter - is there anything you’d like to hear more about in the next edition?
HISTORIC CONNECTIONS AND A NEW BURSARY
This year, Mill Hill School is celebrating a 100year partnership with Alford House, a youth club in Lambeth. Over the last century, dozens of Old Millhillians have served this youth club as trustees and in many other ways besides.
For the first time, last term one of the club’s members, Antonio, joined Mill Hill on a full bursary. This is what he has to say about his time at Mill Hill so far:
‘Since joining Mill Hill, I’ve been able to get involved in so many opportunities. I’m part of the basketball and rugby teams, CCF and choir.
The classes are much smaller here and with the support of the teachers that I have, I will be able to achieve one hundred-fold what I could have achieved previously.
Being at Mill Hill is very different in ways that are hard to explain. Where I have grown up is a very dangerous area. Mill Hill is a completely different world to my home. The thing I love the most here is the boarding experience. There is
a great sense of family and community.
I am going to take full advantage of my time at Mill Hill and all the opportunities I’m being given. I want to be an advocate for bursaries and to help give this opportunity to others. It really does change your life.’
‘I will be able to achieve one hundred-fold what I could have previously’
IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS
Over the past five years, we are incredibly proud to have seen over fifty bursary holders graduate from Mill Hill and embark on a wide range of university courses including:
THE LONG VIEW: FROM THE CEO
Since January, VAT on school fees has been a reality. Alongside losing charitable rates relief, and higher National Insurance taxes, it has been a perfect storm of financial headwinds.
A number of UK independent schools have already announced their closure, and I suspect more will follow later in the year. Schools have been trying to cut costs to limit the overall increase in fees when VAT has to be charged at 20%. In our schools, we increased overall fees by 12.5%, meaning we have had to work very hard to reduce costs to absorb the VAT.
Some schools will cut bursaries, as these are relatively easy costs to reduce. We don’t want to do this; it is in our DNA to extend opportunity as widely as possible.
The positive news is that we have been planning for the risk of VAT being imposed for many years, and this is one factor behind the rapid growth in our family of schools.
We have also diversified into new forms of income, such as opening our first
school abroad, in Thailand; all of the income generated from this will go into a separate endowment fund for bursaries, which also now allows ringfenced philanthropic giving towards bursaries.
Your support is more needed, and more appreciated, than ever. The outcome is young lives that are genuinely transformed, as so many have been over the years. Thank you for your part in this.
Antony Spencer CEO
IN THE WORDS OF A SUPPORTER: ARTHUR
At the tender age of 13, I knew nothing of bursaries and very little about Mill Hill School. During my second year at grammar school, a circular came round concerning assisted places at Mill Hill. After some considerable thought, the family decided to apply and I was awarded a place for September 1954.
The first term was very hard but things became easier as time passed. I appreciated the opportunity for academic effort and also the sporting facilities. As the years passed, I became more and more involved in school sports. In and out of the classroom, I was benefitting greatly.
After Mill Hill, I studied Civil Engineering at Nottingham University. I then worked for a variety of companies at home and abroad before setting up my own practice. When asked why I support the bursary scheme, the answer is simple. Mill Hill gave me a first class education on which I might otherwise have missed out.
Arthur Ferryman (Burton Bank, 1954-1959)
A GLOWING REVIEW: THE GOOD SCHOOLS GUIDE
Last term we were visited by the Good Schools Guide who independently review schools around the UK. There won’t be many London independent schools who are described in such glowing terms. You can read the full review online here, in the meantime, here are a few highlights:
‘On the school crest, the martlet, a bird always on the wing - a symbol for continuous effort, so highly valued, whether in academic, sporting or co-curricular life.'
'The well-established ethos to promote leadership and confidence, combined with new academic rigour, and an openness between pupils and teachers, equips pupils for life beyond the classroom. ‘There’s no ceiling on what you can achieve if you want to do well,’ says a parent: ‘They find that thing which makes each child shine bright, then polish it.’
‘Long-standing reputation for sporting excellence shows no sign of diminishing, especially with energetic director of sport and enhanced partnerships.’
‘The martlet, a bird always on the wing - a symbol for continuous effort, so highly valued in academic, sporting or co-curricular life’
Guests at the recent Middlesex Scholars’ Afternoon Tea, Archive Morning and Benefactors’ Reception
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
To find out more or sign up, email: heather.roberts@mhsfoundation.uk.
• THE MILL HILL CRICKET DINNER Thursday 3 April, 6.30pm, Mill Hill School
Join us to celebrate the rich history and exciting future of cricket at Mill Hill
• THE CLASS OF 1955 REUNION Wednesday 7 May, 12pm, The Crick Room
The Class of 1955 are invited back to School for a special celebratory lunch
• THE 1807 SOCIETY LUNCHEON Wednesday 21 May, 12pm, The Farmers Club
All who have pledged a legacy gift to the school are invited to lunch with the Head
• 150 YEARS OF BURTON BANK
Saturday 21 June, 1.30pm, Burton Bank
Burton Bankites are invited to this special event to celebrate 150 years of the House
• OLD MILLHILLIANS DAY Saturday 21 June, 2.30pm, The Cricket Pavilion
Join us to catch up with friends over afternoon tea and to watch sports matches taking place across the School
BUILDING FUTURES ON AND OFF THE RUGBY PITCH
AN INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS
BAJAK
WHAT IS YOUR ROLE AT MILL HILL?
I came to Mill Hill via Saracens and have a joint role that works with the School and the Club. My aim is to develop rugby in the School from the bottom up and to support those players who join at Sixth Form as part of the Saracens Partnership.
First and foremost, we want boys to immerse themselves in everything Mill Hill has to offer, adding value to themselves and the School. Mill Hill runs 147 clubs and societies so there really is something for everyone.
On the rugby pitch, our aim is to maximise their talents and see how far they can go. For some of them, it will be county rugby, or playing for the Old Millhillians Rugby Club. For some it might mean going to a super league university or gaining a professional contract, as two boys have done this year.
WHAT DO BURSARIES MEAN TO YOU?
Bursaries play a hugely important role in giving access to boys of all backgrounds to what we offer at Mill Hill.
I am more than passionate about the bursary system because at their age, I was in their position. I come from a single parent, lowincome family. I was going to a local state school and was fortunate to have the opportunity, through a bursary, to go to a school that prioritised rugby.
The bursary system enabled me to do something that I discovered I loved doing and had a talent for. If it wasn’t for the bursary system, I would have left school at 16 to work in a local factory. I was lucky that at the time I went to university, the game turned
professional so I was able to play rugby as a career and now teach.
WHAT ARE YOUR AMBITIONS FOR THE PUPILS?
The most satisfying thing for me, whether or not the partnership boys are bursary recipients, is seeing their togetherness as a group and their contribution to school life, as Senior Monitors, Heads of House or Prefects, speaking at Foundation Day or at other school events. I love seeing them flourish as role models and ambassadors of the school.
We are looking forward to seeing similar opportunities opening up to girls through London Mavericks netball. In the future, my hope is that the pupils coming through will feel the same way I do and will find a way to give back too.’
Chris Bajak Head of Performance Rugby
If you would like to hear more about our rugby programme and meet Chris and members of the 1st XV, email lucia.hull@mhsfoundation.uk.
‘The most satisfying thing for me is seeing the pupils flourish as role models and ambassadors’