【SCMP Education Post:寄宿學校攻略】Mill Hill School – where bright futures are moulded

School Guide

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Mill Hill School epitomises what a British boarding education is about. Speaking with Head, Mrs Frances King, in an eye-opening interview, it became apparent how Mill Hill is preparing young people to meet life head on by stimulating their confidence and transferrable skills. The world is changing and Mill Hill is thinking long-term for the benefit of its pupils. Hong Kong families should take heed … 

While interviewing Mill Hill Head, Frances King, I began to wonder whether I could relay a recording of the interview to Hong Kong parents deliberating over whether to send their children to the UK as soon as possible. This is one Head, and one school, which is ready to support students in their passions and entrepreneurial pursuits, regardless of whether A-level grades and the school’s position in the league tables may be jeopardised.

To set the ball rolling, I should mention about a recent talk of mine at an education fair. I spoke about character-building and grit which Hong Kong children develop at British boarding skills. Hong Kong parents listened with intent and, to my joy, raised many questions after the talk. Slowly but surely, attitudes are shifting with the growing realisation that life is not all about straight A grades and attending the best selective schools.

Mill Hill is thinking outside the box. Mrs King summarised the situation quite neatly by referring to half a class of 15-year-old children which it is almost impossible to give careers advice to for reasons pertaining to future career indecision or merely an overload of innovative ideas. Therefore, these children must have a core set of creative and people skills to fall back on when that “unknown future” eventually unearths itself. In ten years’ time, according to Mrs King, today’s generation should be grateful for bucking up their interpersonal skills because they will be on the telephone trying to pull people into their office. Interesting thoughts, indeed.Mrs King is admirably aware of the situation on the ground in Hong Kong. The arrival of International Schools here has heightened intrigue about the benefits of a British boarding education because parents may settle for a solid product which can be found on their doorstep. However, as Mrs King put forward: “you can transfer a school, but to what extent can you transfer a culture”? Aside from the cultural aspect, Mrs King and her astute team are setting out to widen families “breadth of understanding” of life at a UK boarding school and make parents wonder whether the education path they choose will genuinely benefit their child in a competitive workplace environment.

When I hear stories of Hong Kong students who have not necessarily become successful as a result of securing straight A’s, attending world-class universities or choosing traditionally stable career paths, I do beam a smile of delight. We should rejoice at the news of the Hong Kong student who, as described by Mrs King, followed her passion for the History of Art and studied it at university. Certainly, in the words of my interviewee, this was one student who bucked the trend of hard work and a life in accountancy and finance in Hong Kong, as she began to “think in a broader sense about life experience, creativity and life opportunities”. The said student is now cooperating with an Auction House to encourage HK residents to purchase art.

Following on, Mrs King and I spoke of the need for UK schools to address public speaking skills, as well as to run house competitions and music competitions to help children adopt leadership and teamwork skills. We also need to get children’s creative juices flowing – a mindset both Mrs King and I subscribe to.

I was truly engrossed in Mrs King’s tale of a young man who, with the support of Mill Hill, dropped one A-Level subject as he has an enterprising spirit. Indeed, he is developing his own clothing brand and has a factory in the Midlands city of Leicester. I did not quite ascertain whether his t-shirts and jumpers are selling like hot cakes but that is beside the point. What we have at Mill Hill is a set of students whose DNA is filled with an entrepreneurial spirit and these pupils do “bounce off each other”, said Mrs King.

The success stories could go on and times have clearly changed. As Mrs King told so eloquently: “Grandfathers may have had jobs for lives, fathers may have had six jobs, now people are willing to fail and start over again and again”. I think the main message I want to convey from this interview is that it is ok to fail as students will have skills and grades to fall back on. If Mill Hill can get “most reluctant teenagers to do wonderful things”, as Frances King, alluded to – then Hong Kong families should keep this co-educational London school in mind.

 

Samuel Chan is the Managing Director of Britannia StudyLink.

文章作者Samuel Chan是Britannia StudyLink英識教育創辦人。

http://www.educationpost.com.hk/resources/dse/161215-overseas-education-uk-mill-hill-school-where-bright-futures-are-moulded

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