- Mill Hill County High School
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Mill Hill County High School 
Motto Altiora Peto
("Aiming High")[1]Type partially selective Headteacher Mr Geoffrey Thompson Chair of Governors Mr M Dannell Specialisms Technology and Language Location Worcester Crescent
Mill Hill
London
NW7 4LL
England
Local authority Barnet DfE URN 101359 Ofsted Reports Staff 150 + Students 1706 Gender Mixed Ages 11–18 Houses Apollo, Gemini, Saturn, Mariner, Capricorn Website MHCHS Coordinates: 51°37′46″N 0°14′55″W / 51.6295°N 0.2485°W
Mill Hill County High School is a large secondary school located in Mill Hill, London, England.
Contents
Admissions
It is for students aged 11 to 18. The school has 1,700 pupils as of 2009.[2] The current headmaster of the school is Geoffrey Thompson.
It is currently running well above its designed capacity. It is situated just east of the A1, next to Mill Hill Golf Course and south of Nut Wood. It is north of Marsh Lane (A5109), and one mile north-east of Apex Corner. The London Gateway services are just under a mile to the west. Moat Mount, the area where it was built, is one of the highest points in London.
History
The Orange Hill Grammar School (separate boys' and girls' schools) was on Abbots Road (next to Orange Hill Road) in Burnt Oak (Edgware), and next to the former Burnt Oak site of St James' Catholic High School. The Orange Hill school became Orange Hill Senior High School in the early 1970s, and was a mixed comprehensive. It merged with the Moat Mount School, which was where the current school is, in the 1980s. The Moat Mount School had around 900 boys and girls and a sixth form.
In the early 1990s, it became a grant-maintained school, opting out of the borough of Barnet. It became a technology college in 1994. In 1995 it applied to become a selective school, becoming selective in 1996 and can select up to 25% of its intake. By 1999 it had 1,000 applications for its 200 places.
Headteachers
- Alan Davison 1997-2003 (head of Dame Alice Owen's School since 2005, and of Notley High School from 1993-7)
- Geoffrey Thompson 2004- (head of The Duchess's Community High School in Alnwick from 1997-2003)
Traditions
The school uniform includes a striped maroon and navy blue blazer. As of 2007, students in years 7-11 wear ties of different colours in order to distinguish students in different year groups. The different colours of ties are (in no particular order): Maroon, Black, Navy Blue, Royal Blue and Silver.
Curriculum
The school offers a compulsory education in Maths, English, Science, Geography or History, Religious Studies, Physical Education, Design & Technology, and I.C.T during Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4.
In Key Stage 3, students must also learn History, Geography, Art, Music, Latin, German, French, Dance and Drama. The students may choose two of these subjects as GCSE subjects. They can also choose from Business Studies and Economics, which haven't been taught in KS3.
All students are offered an extra language (either German or Latin) in Year 8 with an exception of sets 5 and 10. The school requires all students to learn a modern foreign language in GCSE. If someone chooses Latin for GCSE, they would still have to take French as Latin is not a modern foreign language.
Transport
As of August 2009, the bus route 605 serves the school, with access to Mill Hill Broadway, Burnt Oak and Edgware Stations for all students. At Mill Hill Broadway there is access to the 240 Bus, 221 Bus, 113 Bus, 251 Bus. Mill Hill Broadway railway station is a thirty minute walk away. There are also bus stops at Fairway like the 292 Bus and the 604 bus which is run by a different company.
Intake
In accordance with the school's status as a technology college, the school selects 10% of its intake through a test of abstract reasoning. A further 15% are selected via auditions for musical and dance ability. The remaining places are allocated to applicants who have a sibling at the school, or who live near to the school.[3]
The class system
In the school for key stage 3 to 4, the sets of classes, grouped according to ability, are in numbers. There are two groups of numbers:
- 1 & 7 = Top Ability
- 2 & 8 = Well above average
- 3 & 9 = Above Average
- 4 & 10 = Average
- 5 = Support
Not all classes are grouped according to ability, particularly in KS3. For example, dance and drama, music, design and technology and art classes are all grouped randomly. PE is grouped in sets 1 - 5 for Year 7. For Year 8 and Year 9, it is grouped according to what importance you give to PE.
Both groups have separate subjects at separate times. In Year 9, each group has humanities, mathematics, languages and art, dance & drama and music.
Mill Hill County High School also has a support department which comes to the need of those students who may have learning difficulties. Support teachers are often referred to as Learning Support Assistants.
Notable alumni
- Ben Strevens, professional footballer currently playing for Brentford F.C.
Orange Hill Grammar School (boys' and girls')
- Air Vice-Marshal Paul Clark CB, former GEC-Marconi then BAE Systems North America executive, and Commandant of the RAF Signals Engineering Establishment (RAFSEE) at RAF Henlow (now home of the RAF Signals Museum) from 1990-1
- Ronald Cohen, venture capitalist, and Chairman since 2005 of the Portland Trust
- David Dein, former Arsenal FC vice-chairman[4]
- Robert Elms, writer and lunchtime broadcaster on BBC London 94.9
- Graham Minter LVO, Ambassador to Bolivia from 1998-2001
- Prof Charles Oppenheim, Professor of Information Science since 1998 at Loughborough University
- Stephen Pankhurst, software developer and founder (in 2000) of Friends Reunited (with his wife Julie Pankhurst)
- Jean Simmons OBE, Hollywood actress
- Jon Smith, Chief Executive since 2001 of First Artist Corporation
- Jeffrey Taylor, Film, Television & Stage producer (Stagescreen Productions)
Orange Hill Senior High School
- Angus Fraser MBE, former England cricketer and Managing Director since 2009 of Middlesex County Cricket Club
See also
- Mill Hill School, nearby independent school
References
- ^ literally "I make for/seek/aim for higher things". Stone, Jon R. (2004). The Routledge Dictionary of Latin Quotations: The Illiterati's Guide to Latin Maxims, Mottoes, Proverbs, and Sayings. Routledge. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-415-96909-3.
- ^ Head's Introduction, Mill Hill County High School.
- ^ Prospectus, Mill Hill County High School.
- ^ J Gunzi (2006-05-05). "Welcome Back, David Dein". Head's Newsletter. Mill Hill County High School. pp. p9. http://www.mhchs.org.uk/newsletter/apr2006.pdf. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
External links
Categories:- Comprehensive schools in London
- Technology Colleges in England
- Language Colleges in England
- Education in Barnet
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