It’s November.

It’s three degrees outside and pupils are gathering at the Farm Road changing rooms despite the cold. Five buckets are lying in wait, all filled with ice and freezing water.

This was the ice bucket challenge that our Netball and Hockey girls participated in to show support for the Mill Hill School Rugby team who were raising money for Movember this year.

The ice bucket challenge was one of the many things that were organised by the Rugby team to raise awareness for men’s mental health.

Did you know that 60 men commit suicide every hour? That makes it 1,442 men a day. That is more than the number of pupils currently attending Mill Hill Senior School.

The Movember Ambassadors’ aims include breaking the stigma around mental health in men and to show pupils at the School that it is okay to not be okay. They want to encourage them to speak out and get the Mill Hill School community thinking differently about mental health; it isn’t a taboo subject.

The Ambassadors, Joe R (Year 13, Burton Bank), Charlie S (Year 13, School), Harry E (Year 13, Priestley) and Harry O (Year 13, Priestley), drove home the message that no one is ever alone and that people, men especially, should always reach out; emotion is not something to be ashamed of.

To do this and raise awareness, the Movember group spoke in Chapel services about positive masculinity, set themselves a series of challenges and organised several fundraisers. As well as the ice bucket challenge, these included a chili eating challenge, bake sales and a cycle/ski/row/run to France – where they covered 650km, far surpassing the 450km they had aimed for.

Along with these activities, there was the infamous Movember Netball Tournament, which saw a team from some of the School’s core sports (Rugby, Netball, Football and Hockey), along with a staff team, compete against each other.

The Movember group did a fantastic job of creating awareness across the school community and raised over £6,950 at the time of writing.

One of the Ambassadors, Joe R, said: “I’m really happy with how it’s gone. It’s been a successful campaign and it’s great there’s such widespread support within the School. So many people have been supportive with the issue, and they’ll continue to support Movember when they leave school, when they leave university, when they start their job.

We want to build recognition. Being able to speak to each other solves so many problems – it’s about not being alone or by yourself. I think that is the best way of solving absolutely everything.”

The School is incredibly proud to have such brilliant role models within its community. Well done to everyone who participated in the fundraising and challenges that had been set.

There is still one final fundraising push to go before the fundraising ends on Sunday 7 December. If you still want to donate, it’s not too late. Click here and help Mill Hill School’s fundraising efforts.