The Portico February 2026

The Portico February 2026

Welcome to the February 2026 edition of The Portico.

As we reach half term and Mill Hill School takes a breath from the whirlwind of drama performances, sports matches, concerts and all the other clubs and societies that make up a school day (lessons aside), I’m pleased to introduce the first edition of The Portico in 2026.

For this issue, I had the pleasure of interviewing Antony Spencer about his journey to becoming CEO of the Foundation. You will also hear from Evelyn, a former Mill Hill bursary award recipient who has recently joined the Development Team. She is passionate about enabling more young people from backgrounds like her own to access an education at our School and looks forward to meeting many of you at some of the events listed on the back page.

Last year, you were part of raising £600,000 for bursaries helping towards our goal of admitting 10% of places to deserving bursary award recipients.

Thank you for everything you have made possible for the young people who until now, couldn’t have imagined gaining a place at the School.

CCF’s Corps of Drums at The Lord Mayor’s Show

November 2025

Contributors to the Religion and Ethics Magazine ‘Oriel’ December 2025

As always, I would love to hear your feedback on this publication, or if you would like to contact anyone featured directly, please do let me know.

With very best wishes,

Lucia Hull Director of Development lucia.hull@mhsfoundation.co.uk

Remove Pupils perform The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time December 2025

The Portico - February 2026 | p. 1

into accountancy, qualifying as a chartered accountant.

Over time, I realised the parts of my job I enjoyed most were training and developing people.

I was also volunteering through church, teaching and explaining ideas, and it became clear that education was where my strengths lay.

IN CONVERSATION WITH THE CEO, ANTONY SPENCER What first drew you into education?

I was state educated at a boys’ school in Chesterfield, and I was the first in my family to go to university. Both my parents left school at 15 with no qualifications. Chesterfield at the time was a mining town, so we went through the miners’ strike, and it wasn’t an academically aspirational place. I had a happy childhood with loving and hard-working parents. My father worked as an oil driller and later as a security guard; my mother was a care aide supporting elderly people in their homes. I was born in a council house and we lived on a working-class estate.

There was no sense of a pathway to elite universities.

concerts in the Sheldonian Theatre were worlds apart from Friday nights in Chesterfield! I don’t like to over-dramatise it, but education genuinely gave me new horizons. It opened up a world I hadn’t known existed and showed me the power of education to create opportunity.

You didn’t go straight into teaching – why?

I had the rather bewildering luxury of a number of potential job offers after university:

Education genuinely gave me new horizons. It showed me the power of education to create opportunity.”

I was fortunate to go to the University of Oxford to study PPE and I had a wonderful time there. It was a completely different life to my upbringing. I never got over walking through a city and seeing beautiful buildings all around and all the good things that go with that sort of academic environment; p. 2 | The Portico - February 2026

the Civil Service Fast Stream, Banking, the Royal Artillery or the police. I was thinking about teaching and in my final year at university, I volunteered at my old school. I really enjoyed it but decided to do something different first. I ultimately went

How did you eventually make the leap into schools?

One day, I happened to be casually browsing the Times Educational Supplement in WHSmith in Slough, where I lived at the time, and saw an ad for a job in a school teaching business and economics that didn’t require formal training. I had a family by then and couldn’t afford an unpaid year of teacher training.

I applied, taught a lesson, and was offered the job at Eastbourne College. My salary was halved, we sold our house, and moved my family at the age of 31 to take the job. I have no regrets!

How did your career progress from there?

I loved the sense of community at Eastbourne. I enjoyed the boarding environment and the breadth of education that was provided. After Eastbourne, I moved to a leadership role at Denstone College in Staffordshire, then to Clifton College, Bristol as Deputy Head, before becoming Head at St Lawrence College, Ramsgate.

Throughout, my focus has always been on improving schools in ways that benefit pupils, their education, wellbeing, happiness and success in life.

When you arrived at Mill Hill, what did you see?

A school with enormous potential. There had been a fair degree of instability, and academic results and systems weren’t as strong as they could be. I saw a school with an

impressive heritage that was capable of a lot more. I arrived in January 2020, and within weeks we were dealing with Covid, while also making significant changes. It was intense, but the foundations we laid then, are now bearing fruit.

What principles have guided the growth of the Foundation?

Growth wasn’t part of my original plan; the four schools on The Ridgeway were already quite a big project. It wasn’t until I got to know Mill Hill and the challenges that lay ahead that we considered opportunities for growing the Foundation. It was in the midst of Covid that the first possibility of a school being added came across my desk and we have grown from there.

The guiding principle has always been about values. We have only added schools where our ethos aligns; childcentred education, breadth, excellence, and schools as communities rather than as a business or service. We only pursue charitable mergers, they cost nothing so in that sense there is a strong financial and commercial underpinning.

success of Mill Hill as a school and its raison d’etre as a charity.

What would you like to say to supporters of bursaries at Mill Hill?

Education changed my life, and we don’t want something, which we all recognise is incredibly powerful, just to be available to a limited group of people. As a charity, widening access isn’t an optional extra. It is fundamental to why we exist.

Thank you! Quite simply, this changes lives. Education is a long-term investment, and the impact unfolds over decades.

Every gift, whether large or small, will bring us closer to that vision of genuine access.

Why is building a long-term bursary endowment a priority now?

Relying solely on annual income will never allow us to support bursaries at the level we aspire to. Schools like Eton or Christ’s Hospital can draw on significant endowments; Mill Hill cannot - yet.

As a charity, widening access isn’t an optional extra. It is fundamental to why we exist.”

Why are bursaries so central to the Foundation’s mission?

Because they always have been and because Mill Hill’s greatest periods of success have been when access was at the heart of its mission, particularly thinking about the Middlesex Scheme.

You meet Old Millhillians who benefited from bursaries and assisted places decades ago and see the lifelong impact, not just on them, but on society more broadly. The bursary programme is intrinsic to the

An endowment is about the very long term. We may not see the full benefit in our lifetimes, but in 200 years’ time, wouldn’t it be extraordinary if Mill Hill were needsblind because of decisions we took now? That’s what an endowment makes possible: sustainability, independence, and confidence that our charitable purpose will endure.

We often talk about changing one life at a time. That’s how endowments grow too – one gift at a time, to create something that lasts for generations.

YEARS OF WOMEN AT MILL HILL As the recipient of a Sixth Form bursary award and growing up with just my mum on a council estate, my journey has been shaped by female role models. As we mark 50 Years of Women at Mill Hill, it is only fitting that we highlight the female trailblazers who have inspired the next generation of female leaders.

At Mill Hill, the inclusion of female pupils in 1975 was a turning point in our history. It paved the way for prominent Old Millhillians, such as Stephanie Jones-Miller (Priestley, 1990-1992), the first female President of the Old Millhillians Club and the Vice Chair of The Court of Governors, to be shaped by the values of our School.

Leanne Armitage (Ridgeway, 2011-2013) speaking at the 2019 Foundation Day

Stephanie explains: ‘In an environment where there was nowhere to hide, [we] had to find our voices, hold our ground, and carve out a place within a culture only just beginning to imagine a co-educational future.’

Seeing Jane Sanchez as my Head (2018-2023) was inspirational; her leadership embodied the power of representation and showed me that ambition, resilience, and compassion are essential to success.

Stephanie Jones-Miller (Priestley, 1990-1992) p. 4 | The Portico - February 2026

Within the female Old Millhillian community,

we are proud to have several bursary award recipients amongst them. Sophia Dunkley (Cedars, 2011-2016) who featured in the last edition of The Portico made her senior debut for Middlesex cricket aged 14 and won her first test cap for England against India when she was 22 years old.

Sophia’s time at Mill Hill enabled her to pursue her passion and thrive in the opportunity to take part in different sports, including cricket which was less developed in most girls’ schools. She recalls, ‘When I was a pupil at Mill Hill, it wasn’t possible for women to make a career out of cricket, and I don’t think there are many schools that would have supported me in the way Mill Hill did.’

Leanne Armitage (Ridgeway, 2011–2013) was the guest speaker at the 2019 Foundation Day which was one of the first events I attended as a pupil. I found her address about her ambition to become a trauma surgeon and her journey to achieve her goal truly inspiring.

Growing up in a background similar to my own, surrounded by violent crime, her story resonated strongly with me. Learning how Mill Hill supported Leanne in turning her ambitions into reality, highlighted the transformative impact of a Mill Hill education.

As Mill Hill marks 50 Years of Women, these stories remind us that progress is driven not only by milestones, but by the courage, determination and generosity of those who came before.

For me, it is this legacy which will continue to inspire the next generation of Mill Hill women to lead with confidence, purpose and impact.

Mill Hill enabled me to reach my dreams of reading Law at the University of Cambridge and recognise the importance of giving back.

I’m now driven by a desire to open doors for others like me, so they can experience the same opportunities I had at Mill Hill.

I’m now driven by a desire to open doors for others like me, so they can experience the same opportunities I had at Mill Hill.

Evelyn Taylor (Winfield, 2019-2021)

BENEFACTORS’ RECEPTION It was wonderful to welcome supporters to our Benefactors’ Reception and Nine Lessons at Carols in December. Mill Hill and Belmont pupils gave stunning performances of better and lesser-known carols to a packed chapel.

With thanks to all who attended, it was a truly uplifting evening.

IN THE WORDS OF A SUPPORTER What Mill Hill Means to Me

What I want my support to achieve

Forty one years after leaving Mill Hill, enough time has gone by for me to make a judgement call. To answer the question ‘what does Mill Hill mean to you?’ the word I most associate with my time there is, unhesitatingly, ‘OPPORTUNITY’.

Currently bursaries in the School support 45 pupils, which is 5% of pupils, and the ambition is to double that number to 10%. So, if we all contribute a little, we accumulate a lot and as they say … ‘every little helps’.

Many of us have had the good fortune to come from families that could afford to send us to Mill Hill and so enable us to take advantage of the opportunities it afforded and give us a head start in life.

As a boarder in Winterstoke House from 1980-1985, Mill Hill was not only about academic excellence, but an opportunity to learn essential life skills.

I hope that bursaries will give young people the opportunity to develop confidence, not just through the holistic education Mill Hill School offers but also by imbibing that intangible and unique camaraderie many of us at the School enjoyed and still have decades later.

The word I most associate with my time there is, unhesitatingly, ‘OPPORTUNITY’.

My journey at Mill Hill did not start like most of my contemporaries at the junior school, Belmont, and I arrived as an outsider. But to the credit of teachers like my Housemaster, Tim Corbett, the support and pastoral care that I enjoyed, enabled me to tap into my capabilities and build my confidence. I soon felt that I belonged. Like sliding doors, my life could have been very different, and I attribute much of my later successes in life to the Mill Hill environment and the nurture I received there.

Forty-one years after leaving Mill Hill there is a connection between pupils (and teachers) that is second to none, a unique camaraderie that alumni from other schools find extraordinary and of which they are very envious. One of the most active WhatsApp channels to which I regularly contribute is a group of 30 Millhillians who joined the School together – and we are currently organizing another get together. This is an example of the support network Mill Hill provides, and I hope many others will enjoy with all our help.

The bursary scheme offers a special opportunity to ‘make a difference’.

Why I support bursaries at Mill Hill I wish that disadvantaged young people could have the experience and opportunity that I had. I have no doubt that Mill Hill continues to maintain its values and its DNA runs deep and will build the confidence of future potential bursary recipients and enable them to fulfil their true potential.

I genuinely believe that bursaries are a powerful means to change lives for the better. A Mill Hill education allows for the development of talent and ambition, and I think it would be very sad if that opportunity was limited by financial circumstance.

While it would be naïve to think we can change the whole world, we can make a significant difference to a few people’s lives.

Image to the right: Tim Corbett, former Housemaster, Winterstoke, Chris Kelly, former Housemaster, McClure and Head of Rugby with Manny, 2023 p. 6 | The Portico - February 2026

Manny Ajayi (Winterstoke,1980-1985)

MY MILL HILL STORY I grew up in Neasden in a single-income household, so independent education was never a possibility for my siblings and me. I attended a local primary school and found out about bursaries after being encouraged by teachers to go for the 11+ exams.

We did some research, and Mill Hill had the best balance of all of the things I could have wanted in a school: co-educational, inclusive and lots of green space.

Above: CCF Corps of Drums Beating Retreat, June 2021

After taking the exam and having interviews with teachers, I was awarded a bursary and joined the Foundation in Year 7. I quickly settled into life at Mill Hill, embracing opportunities to explore interests I might never have discovered elsewhere, including the CCF, the Corps of Drums and cross-country running.

Now, I work every day using the writing and project management skills I developed at School and during my degree, and I’m excited to see how my career progresses.

Most importantly, Mill Hill was where my love of books truly took shape. Supported by inspiring teachers, the English Society and outstanding library facilities, this passion grew into a lifelong pursuit, leading to me having now completed a BA and an MA in English Literature at the University of York.

I am deeply thankful to the supporters whose generosity made my time at Mill Hill possible. Your support has had a lasting impact on my education and future, and I hope my story reflects the difference your bursary support makes.

Amélie Kuet (Weymouth, 2014-2021)

A SPOTLIGHT ON CAPITAL PROJECTS Game Changer: Championing a new AstroTurf Pitch for Belmont Early in January, we were delighted to be given planning permission to build a new AstroTurf pitch at Belmont.

Our schools have a proud tradition of offering a broad, ambitious sports programme. However, with Belmont and Mill Hill pupils currently sharing one AstroTurf at the Senior School, the demand for pitch space is high and a lack of training space for our teams is limiting player development.

The total cost of this project is £1 million. The Foundation has already committed £500,000 and we now need to raise the remaining £500,000 to bring this vision to life.

There are many ways you can support this exciting project. Find out more about the plans and get involved at millhill.co/gamechanger.

The opportunities that a new astro presents across all sports, and especially hockey, are vast. It will transform the daily experience of our pupils, across every year group.

Sport England have also identified the need for better pitch provision in the local area. We are delighted that Belmont will become a sporting hub for the local community too.

Oscar G, Anya W and Tobi O, Year 8 Sports Scholars

Find out more about the Belmont Game Changer Campaign at millhill.co/gamechanger The Portico - February 2026 | p. 7

UPCOMING EVENTS Supporter Breakfast

The Collinson Reunion

Tues 17 March, 8.30 - 10.00am, Mill Hill School

Sat 20 June, 12.00pm, Mill Hill School

This is a valuable opportunity to connect with Mill Hill and hear the latest developments, insights, and priorities for the year ahead.

All Collinsonians are invited to join us for a memorable afternoon, with the opportunity to catch up with old friends and share memories.

The Spring Concert

Old Millhillians Day

Thurs 19 March, 6.30pm, Mill Hill School

Sat 20 June, 2.30pm, The Cricket Pavilion, Mill Hill School

We warmly welcome you to join us for this special concert, a culmination of the hard work of Mill Hill’s talented musicians and singers.

Join us to catch up with friends over afternoon tea and to watch sports matches taking place across the School.

The 1950s Reunion Wed 6 May, 12pm , Mill Hill School Following the success of last year’s Class of 55 reunion, we are broadening the invitation to all Old Millhillians who left the School in the 1950s (or before).

The Mill Hill Cricket Dinner Fri 8 May, 6.30pm, Mill Hill School Join us for a three course dinner to mark 100 years of cricket on Park.

The 1807 Society Luncheon Wed 20 May, 12pm, Ironmongers Hall All those who have pledge a gift to the School in their will are invited to lunch with the CEO and Head.

The Development Office Mill Hill School The Ridgeway London NW7 1QS 020 8906 7864 development@millhill.org.uk millhill.org.uk

To find out more or register email

development@millhill.org.uk p. 8 | The Portico - June 2025

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