Mill Hill School Foundation, a family of co-educational day and boarding Schools, catering for ages 3-19, comprises a Pre-Prep, Prep, Senior School and a recently established International School set in 160 acres of wooded parkland just half an hour from central London. Mill Hill School Foundation's, Open Morning on Saturday 23 April offers a fantastic opportunity to see everything that the school has to offer families relocating to London. Here, head teacher, Mrs Frances King addresses the unique challenges facing globally mobile students preparing for an unknown future. How should we educate children for an unknown future? Amongst the dramatic statements that came out of this year's World Economic Forum at Davos in January 2016 was that seven in ten children in primary school today will ultimately find themselves working in jobs that do not exist. The theme of the conference was what is now being called the 'Fourth Industrial Revolution', a period in time identified as a revolution due to the scale, speed and impact that technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, biotechnology, 3D printing will have on the way we will live.

Becoming '21st Century ready'

At Mill Hill School Foundation, we do not claim to have an answer to this challenge but we are, at least, aware that we need to provide our students with skills which will enable them to face the future with confidence. The Foundation, consists of four schools: pre-prep, prep and senior, and our recently opened International School. This term, following my arrival, I have challenged each school to consider how to become 21st century ready.Whilst for many, preparing students for the future might be ensuring that they have good enough computing skills, at the Foundation we believe that the task is wider than this. First, it is important to restate a timeless element of our view on education - our core values of pride, integrity, learning, leadership, achievement and respect - and to expect our students to live according to these.

A strong academic grounding

A strong academic grounding is key to education, with a focus on ensuring that both students and teachers embody a positive growth mind-set. We believe that children's basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work and that such an approach creates a love of learning and resilience, both of which are critical for the future.Finally, we hold firmly to the view that academic learning needs to be set within a wider offer of sports, music, drama, art and clubs which stimulate other interests. Such activities encourage the soft skills of team work, leadership, self-confidence and general emotional intelligence. With a future in which robots may focus on basic administrative and clerical tasks, the interpersonal skills which these extra-curricular activities develop will soon become highly sought after.The earliest school in the Foundation was set up in 1807 with the aim of creating a place of learning open to all, whatever their background. Having a thriving boarding section within the School, we are able to extend our reach to the international market through our International School and our Senior School. We can equip all our students for the future through experiencing the benefits of the global community right here in Mill Hill. Whilst we cannot predict the future, we do believe that our broad approach to education will provide our students with the skills, resilience and flexibility to cope with the uncertainty of progress: a strong foundation for the future.Do come to visit our Schools at the Open Day on 23rd April from 9am until midday.For further information or to arrange to visit any of the Schools please contact: Mr Tony Binns Deputy Head (Mill Hill School Foundation) tjb@millhill.org.uk 020 8906 7866 07894 905753Mill Hill School Foundation

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