News
This year’s Foundation Day was a particularly special event. The day began with a formal commemorative Chapel service at 10am, followed by the Prizegiving Ceremony at 11:30am. I was delighted to welcome our guest speaker, Old Millhillian, Jamie Hartman (McClure, 1984-89) who had flown over from his home in Los Angeles to be with us. Multi-award winner and 2021 Oscar shortlist nominee Jamie has written, produced, and performed hundreds of cuts in the pop, singer-songwriter, and dance genres, working with a huge range of major label artists and top talent around the world. Jamie’s music has also been featured in many commercials, television shows, and movies over the years, so whatever your era, you will certainly have heard his music! Jamie’s address captivated the audience, and his rendition of the song he wrote for Rag ‘n’ Bone Man, Human, was electric. During the ceremony, Jamie presented the prize winners with their awards and, touchingly, presented the guitar he used for his performance to Alex C (Cedars), an Upper Sixth leaver whom we believe will make the most of the opportunity to learn a new musical instrument!
Also, present on the day as a special guest was the Rt Honourable, The Lord Glendonbrook, CBE. Lord Glendonbrook attended Mill Hill from 1955 to 1957 and he went on to become hugely successful in the aviation industry. He was honoured with a CBE in 1986, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1991 and appointed a Peer to the House of Lords in 2011. Lord Glendonbrook is a huge supporter of the school and its bursary programme, supporting six pupiIs every year, and we were delighted that he joined us to present ‘The Glendonbrook Prize’, a new annual award which is presented to a pupil in the Upper Sixth who has made outstanding transformational progress over the course of their Sixth Form experience.
The Senior Monitors gave wonderful speeches and a vote of thanks to our special guests, we were entertained by senior musicians throughout the celebration, and by the Corps of Drums prior to the first XV Rugby team taking to the field for their afternoon fixture. The boys ultimately won a testy match, and the girls’ 1st XI Hockey team were victorious in their fixture on the Astro. Charlie A (Murray) played an upbeat DJ set on Top Terrace whilst pupils, parents and guests enjoyed a sumptuous BBQ on the Head’s Lawn. All in all, it was a memorable occasion; the sun shone for the most part, and the community spirit was palpable, with Millhillians young and old savouring the opportunity to connect. The general consensus? The best Foundation Day of recent years!
Mrs Sanchez
Head
