OM Dinner Speech 2018

I am both honoured and privileged to stand before you as the Interim Head at Mill Hill for the coming year, a school I joined 15 years ago. I can assure you of my determination, courage, integrity and professionalism to do the very best for the School, a school for whom you have a strong connection and deep affection... Because I too love Mill Hill, it is part of my DNA, my second family and a place where I feel completely at home.

There is no doubt in my mind of the strength of the Mill Hill community:

• Firstly, the pupils, staff, governors and parents in the Immediate Mill Hill family working together to achieve our aims and objectives, shared and understood by all Foundation schools, and that reflect our own School motto “et virtutem, et musas” – Instilling Values, Inspiring Minds.

• Secondly, we draw strength from the security and support offered by our extended Mill Hill family; Old Millhillians, Life Guardians and friends of Mill Hill, who provide an invaluable link with the past, but who are believers in the need to support our current pupils and YOMS as they start out on their career paths, as well as offering a global network of links that inextricably binds Millhillians together…

• And finally, there are our distant cousins – those organisations with whom Mill Hill has built strong and lasting partnerships over the years. Friendships based on shared values, a desire to make a difference to the lives of others and an appreciation of the importance of a global outlook. The Overseas Partnerships to India and Zambia are perfect examples, with the impact of each expedition extending far beyond the trip itself.

A few weeks ago, I was looking through the books on the shelves of my new office, a moving journey into the past, and one that brought into sharp focus in whose footsteps I am following.

One book stood out – The Mill Hill School yearbook of 1918 and Sir John McClure was Headmaster. Under his leadership, the Estate grew significantly, with the construction of iconic buildings that we still use today; the Winterstoke Library, the McClure Music School, the Chapel, Marnham block, Murray Scriptorium, the Gate of Honour and the indoor swimming pool - now the Favell building!

But Sir John McClure’s era was not merely marked by a prolific building programme, for he was Headmaster during the First World War, a time in our history of terrible human loss.

The 11 November marks one hundred years since the end of the First World War – Armistice Day – and I have already determined to mark this important point in our history in a manner befitting the legacy of Sir John McClure. Our wonderful Chapel, constructed in McClure’s time, will be the focus of the commemoration and I have no doubt that our Chaplain – Rev Dr Warden – will ensure that the occasion is a moving tribute to the fallen.

Having read the yearbook, reassuringly, Sir John McClure’s Mill Hill had the feeling of today’s school, despite all the inevitable changes and huge technological advances seen over the years. And I realized just how important it is for each successive school leader to carry the torch of our founders, to stay true to our core values and to ensure that despite the inevitable drive and need for change, we never lose what it is to be a Millhillian.

Striving for excellence in Education is central to our core purpose, and this year was no different. Our A Level class of 2018 acquitted themselves well in the context of the new examinations, and we are delighted that they are moving onto such a wide variety of courses and higher education destinations, including:

• Reuben Brown, who will read History at Selwyn College, Cambridge

• 10 students going up to UCL

• Theo Jones, who is off to the Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology

• and Trinity Perkins, who is moving overseas to study at the IED Design School in Barcelona

On the national stage, one particular highlight of the year was Tyler Cohen winning the prestigious Teen Tech Award for his OT A Level project, a motion stabilizer to help those suffering from Parkinson’s disease to lead a more independent life; this was a huge achievement and one that absolutely reflects our spirit of innovation and enterprise but, more importantly, Millhillians’ thought and care for others and a desire to improve lives. Tyler is off to Nottingham University to study Management.

Our GCSE pupils also did themselves proud. We were very satisfied and encouraged by the overall standards achieved by the Fifth Form; trailblazers for those new exams and recipients of grades now expressed as numbers from 9 to 1 instead of letters from A* to G.

As at A-level, the GCSE results contain the achievements of the first Mount, Mill Hill International pupils to come across to the Remove in 2016. The relationship between our schools is flourishing and we look forward to seeing how the next two transition groups get on in 2019.