WHERE ARE THEY NOW Ben Knight

Before the prospect of attending Mill Hill School I was predicted Cs and Ds for my GCSEs, then through playing rugby for Saracens I was offered the opportunity to go to Mill Hill; but only if I achieved Cs and above in my upcoming GCSE exams. With this carrot dangling in front of me, the exams had a new purpose and this gave me the drive to make the grade and be accepted on a rugby scholarship to board in Burton Bank.

Three years down the line, a gap year Down Under later, I made the grade to go to Loughborough University, where I combined my aptitude for Design and Technology and love of Biology, and studied Ergonomics. Although I didn’t go into Ergonomics, I applied the project management skills I had acquired during my degree to good use and worked as a software project manager in Luxembourg for three years, then progressed onto account management and sales in London.

However, none of it really stimulated me, and although it paid for awesome holidays I felt there was definitely something missing. So one day while travelling in Columbia I decided that I wanted to do something different, something that excited me and did more than just bring the money in. At the time we were staying in a cool little place that was between a hostel and a hotel. The owner knew the area very well and could recommend a multitude of activities for all tastes. This got us thinking (‘us’ by the way is my business partner and fiance; Francesca) that we would love to open something like this; combining all the best bits of the favourite places we’d stayed into one. So I set to work making this dream into a reality. 18 months on we said goodbye to our two bed flat in Walthamstow and moved into a five bedroom 17th century farmhouse with adjoining self-catered cottage and a large traditional lakeland stone barn in the Lake District National Park. We immediately set about converting the house into the bed and breakfast that we had dreamed of.

Then we moved on to converting the beautiful old barn into a wedding and events space, which we are now proud to call Low Hall The Lakes.

Last October we celebrated our first birthday, and engagedanniversary (yes I proposed the day we moved in!) and despite the ups and downs that starting your own business entails, I could not be happier doing what I am now doing. We have had a successful first year, welcoming everyone from hikers, cyclist and triathletes, to couples just wanting to get away from it all. And, we are getting booked up for 2019 and beyond for weddings and events in the barn.

So, if you find yourselves up in the Lakes, make sure you call in and say ‘hello’ lowhallthelakes.com

What were you like at school?

Typical rugby player; eating and training too much and not studying enough.

The funniest thing that has happened to you recently?

I was at a festival recently, the night seemed to be coming to an end before I wanted it to, so I whipped my shirt off, got the glow sticks out and pulled out my best moves to try and get everyone back up for it. This didn’t work and my moves can now be seen in all kinds of GIF’s.

What has been the most positive thing you have taken from your school days into your adult life?

Without belittling the great education I received, the friends I made at Mill Hill are what I value most.

What’s the most interesting thing about you?

I have an uncanny ability to talk to anyone.

Do you keep in touch with any OMs?

Yes a whole load of them, you know who you are!

What’s your driving force?

FOMO (fear of missing out!)

Most inspiring teacher at school and why?

Mr Dweck. Although he never ‘taught’ me, he looked like a teacher at school (he had a beard at 15), and teaches there now.

Favourite memory from your time at Mill Hill School?

Rugby tour to South Africa - I can’t go into too much detail as what goes on tour, stays on tour.

Worst memory from your time at Mill Hill School? Saturday school and winter timetable.

If you won £10 million in the lottery, what would you do with the money?

Pay off the mortgage and travel the world by yacht.

If you were a boarder at Mill Hill, how did you find that experience, the good and the bad?

I enjoyed boarding immensely and feel that doing so in my formative years made me a much more independent and outgoing person in the subsequent years at University and then into adult life.

What is your proudest moment and why?

Getting the keys to our new home; Low Hall the Lakes.

Your favourite quote?

Be your own person, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.

A piece of advice you would pass on to those leaving Mill Hill School?

Don’t do what you think people want you to do, but what you actually want to do.