Former Harrogate pupil George Mills has run the third fastest time ever by a British athlete in the United States.
Competing in the final of the prestigious Diamond League in Oregon on Saturday, he finished in 3 minutes 47.65 seconds.
Not only was it a personal best, it was the fastest run by a British miler since 1985. Only Steve Cram and Sebastian Coe have ever beaten it.
Mills’ performance was hailed as “absolutely astonishing” by track and field website Athletics Weekly but remarkably he only finished third behind Norwegian superstar Jakob Ingebrigtsen.
Mills told his Instagram followers:
“3.47 for the mile and third in the Diamond League final to close out the season
“it’s been a busy last three weeks but I’m pretty happy with the series of races I’ve managed to put together.”
Dad Danny, the former England footballer who lives in Harrogate, replied:
“Huge progress! So proud of how hard you work, how dedicated you are! Enjoy It – you’ll be back to work soon.”
It was Mills’ third sub 3 minute 50 second mile in succession as he ended the season in superb form.
British middle distance running is exceptionally strong at the moment and Mills will hope to join the likes of countrymen and world champions Jake Wightman and Josh Kerr at next year’s Olympics in Paris.
Mills attended Ashville College, Brackenfield School and St Aidan’s Church of England High School in Harrogate but spends most of the year abroad now, training and competing.
Read more:
- Harrogate’s Olympic hopeful from a famous sporting family
- Still no start date for work on new Harrogate Tesco
Students celebrate GCSE results across Harrogate district
Thousands of students across the Harrogate district have collected their GCSE results today.
The teenagers, whose preparations for the exams over the last two years were impacted by the covid pandemic, have been celebrating their achievements at schools around the area.
At Harrogate Grammar School, 83% of the 284 students sitting exams this year gained five standard passes in English and maths.
Headteacher Neil Renton said:
“We celebrate the success of all our students. Their remarkable achievements reflect not only their drive for success, but our emphasis on providing a broad and balanced curriculum that meets the differing needs of all our learners.
“These exceptional outcomes recognise the hard work, resilience, and determination of our students and we thank them for all their efforts.”
Harrogate Ladies’ College students performed well in sciences, with more than 75% of results graded 9-7.
Across all subjects, 57% of grades were 9-7 and 36% were 8 or above, while more than 60% of pupils at the school achieved five or more 9-7 grades.
All results in French were 8 or above, and almost 90% of grades in textiles were at that level too. Seven of the school’s textiles pupils were individually congratulated by the exam board for being among the highest performers in the country.
Other high achievers include Maisy Lindley and Ella Marshall, who both achieved a clean sweep of 9-7 grades.
Principal Sylvia Brett said:
“Our results were excellent across all subjects, but as a girls’ school, I’m particularly pleased that we’re leading the way in STEM [science, technology, engineering and maths], an area where women are still hugely underrepresented in the careers market.
“If we want to change this, we need to inspire and encourage girls while they are still at school.”
Harrogate Ladies’ College students Hattie Dixon, Chloe Homer, Ella Marshall, Maisy Lindley and Amelie Coyle.
At Ripon Grammar School, more than 90% of grades were 9-5, the equivalent of A*-B, while 57.3% were 9-7, or A* and A.
The 122 students in the year group achieved a total of 432 top grades of 8 and 9.
Headmaster Jonathan Webb said:
“I am delighted so many of our GCSE students have done so well this year. With the regrading of results to pre-pandemic levels there has been a degree of national uncertainty as overall pass rates have fallen.
“Our year group have worked through adversity and disruption to achieve a strong set of results which now allow them to access their chosen pathway for further study.”
Rossett School‘s students were also celebrating after 63% of the year group achieved five standard passes including English and maths.
Among those achieving grades 9 to 7 across the board were Sam Barker, Arlo Collins, Harry Duffy, Maya Dunmore, Daniel Golding, Danni-Mae Hampson, Robyn Heywood, Henry Hull, George Park, Abbie Ramsden, Mariia Sorokina and Adam Taverner.
Headteacher Tim Milburn said:
“It’s been lovely to see our students this morning and to hear how well they’ve done. The results they have collected today are a real testament to their resilience, commitment and dedication.
“Young people have faced unprecedented disruption to their education over the last three-and-a-half years but that only makes these results more remarkable.”
Rhys Wolf of Ashville College
Among Ashville College‘s high-scoring pupils was Rhys Wolf, who achieved 10 grade 9s and is staying on for sixth form at the school, before setting his sights on a degree in maths or economics.
The school has not released its overall results. Headteacher Rhiannon Wilkinson, said:
“Every success has been incredibly well deserved, and we are proud of what our Year 11 pupils have achieved both in and out of the classroom. They can now focus on the future and the opportunities that lie ahead in our sixth form.”
Queen Mary’s School, between Ripon and Thirsk, has also not released details of its results, but headteacher Carole Cameron said:
“It is truly heart-warming to witness long-standing Queen Mary’s pupils achieving outstanding grades after many years of dedication.”
St Aidan’s Church of England High School in Harrogate has not released its results, but interim headteacher David Thornton said:
“Our students have been there for each other, supporting their friends and classmates.
“St Aidan’s is a close community with parents, carers, staff and students all working together to ensure each student achieves their potential. We all celebrate with them and are immensely proud of each and every one of our students.”
The Stray Ferret contacted all other schools in the Harrogate district for their results and comments, but had not received responses by the time of publication.
Read more:
- Students collect A-level results at Harrogate district schools
- Councillors agree to create new school for autistic children in Harrogate
Lucky escape as tree falls outside Harrogate school
A Harrogate resident has spoken of her relief that nobody was hurt today when a tree from her garden fell outside a school.
The 50-foot beech tree crashed across Oatlands Drive at about 1pm, glancing the wall of St Aidan’s Church of England High School opposite.
Fortunately it happened out of term time. However, Oatlands Drive is still a hive of activity at that time of day, with numerous pedestrians and vehicles passing by but fortunately nobody was doing so when the tree came down.
It fell from a garden belonging to Rowena Wright, who said:
“I’m just so grateful nobody was hurt.”
Pedestrians navigate the fallen tree.
Ms Wright said she was working upstairs when she heard a noise and assumed it was caused by a workman next door.
Minutes later a motorist, who ironically turned out to be a tree surgeon on his way to a job, knocked on her door to tell her what had happened.
Oatlands Drive was blocked to traffic and pedestrians had to climb over the tree.
The tree looked healthy and Ms Wright, who has lived in the house for 30 years, thinks a combination of heavy rain weakening its roots and the weight at the top may have contributed to the incident.
The roots of the tree.
She added:
“We have regular tree care. If it had looked like it was dying we would have had it cut. It’s quite bizarre.”
See the Stray Ferret’s Facebook page for a video of the scene shortly after the incident.
Read more:
- Men in Oatlands live 13 years longer than in Bilton Woodfield, says report
- New aesthetics clinic opens its doors in Harrogate
Postman Pat illustrator to display work during Knaresborough arts festival
Local artist Ray Mutimer will be opening his home gallery to the public during the Knaresborough FEVA festival next month.
Mr Mutimer, a professional freelance illustrator and artist, is best known for illustrating Postman Pat for 14 years. His work appeared in eight Postman Pat annuals and in BBC magazines.
Some of this artwork will be included in a free exhibition of his lifetime’s work at his home in Calcutt from Friday, August 11 to Sunday, August 20. Details are available here.
Between 1975 and 2002, Mr Mutimer illustrated 207 books for various publishers including, Collins, MacMillan, Ladybird, and Scholastic. He was also head of art at St. Aidan’s Church of England High School.
A central part of the exhibition will be Mr Mutimer’s unusually shaped paintings, which he calls ‘landSHAPE’.
Mr Mutimer told the Stray Ferret:
“In the 1960s, frustrated with having to confine my images to square or oblong framing, I painted pictures on boards and began to cut them out.
“At the time they were semi abstract. Recent shaped pictures are realistic, and create a greater, sometimes amazing, illusion of depth and space.”
Read more:
- Original Postman Pat art exhibition in Knaresborough
- Councillors approve gambling arcade in Knaresborough despite addiction concerns
This will be the largest collection of landSHAPE installations he has ever displayed.
The exhibition can be viewed at 8 Whiteway Head, Calcutt, Knaresborough HG5 8LE from 11am to 4pm daily during the 10-day FEVA festival.
FEVA is a festival of entertainment and visual arts that includes art exhibitions, workshops, music and spoken word events.
Harrogate’s Olympic hopeful from a famous sporting family
Harrogate is home to one of Britain’s most famous sporting dynasties — the Mills family.
Dad Danny played football for England and Leeds and while his 19-year-old son Stanley is forging a career with Everton, 23-year-old son George is making a name as an international middle distance runner.
George was 1,500 metre British champion in 2020 and has realistic ambitions of representing the UK at the World Championships in Budapest this year and at the Olympics in Paris next year.
Like most international athletes he lives a nomadic life, spending winter training in South Africa and then alternating between there, Leipzig in Germany and St Moritz in Switzerland during the summer race season.
Training in St Moritz
But his roots are firmly in Harrogate, having lived in the town for most of his childhood when he attended Ashville College, Brackenfield School and St Aidan’s Church of England High School. His youngest brother is still at St Aidan’s. George says:
“St Aidan’s is where I got properly into running. I was in Year 7 and I went to a lunchtime cross-country club every week. I started doing local school races and joined Harrogate Harriers when I was 12 or 13 where I had my first proper coach.”
Under Jo Day’s guidance at Harrogate Harriers, he improved rapidly and became under-18 European 800 metres champion at the age of 17 by running a remarkable 1 minute 48.36 seconds.
Jo recalls:
“Everything I asked George to do he did. I had to pull the reins in on him at times because he wanted to work so hard.
“He was incredibly focused. If you are going to do something in the Mills family, you do it 110%!”
George in a Harrogate Harriers shirt with coach Jo Day
In September 2017 George moved to Brighton to attend university and transferred to Brighton Phoenix, the club 1980 Olympic 800 metres champion Steve Ovett ran for. But injuries kept him off the track for three frustrating years.
He bounced back in 2020 to win British indoor and outdoor titles at 1,500 metres — the distance he now focuses on.
Read more:
- Harrogate man beats 10,000 runners to win Brighton half marathon
- Harrogate teenager crowned national cross-country champion
But international athletics is a brutal and unforgiving sport. His senior British debut at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade last year turned into an “absolute disaster” when he thought he’d recovered from a bug only to fade to seventh in his heat.
He was then tripped in his second senior international appearance at the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul this month.
George, however, doesn’t dwell on these disappointments. He says:
“You learn to roll with it. There’s always setbacks in sport. It’s how you deal with them that counts.”
Instead he is focusing on doing everything he can to have the best chance of success in the 18-month run-up to the Olympics. And we mean everything: he runs up to 180 kilometres a week in training, which even by the standards of the Mills family, where everybody exercises at least five times a week, is extreme. He jokes:
“They think I’m a bit of a weirdo because it’s so time consuming.”
Parental support
His parents are, however, totally behind him and occasionally watch him race. George, who is now a member of On Athletics Club Europe’s elite team of young runners, says:
“Having a dad from a high level sporting background was positive. He taught me about discipline and training — how I have to eat, sleep and train right and recover right. Being a professional sportsman is a 24/7 thing.”
Running may have usurped football but the bond remains strong. He grew up kicking a ball and admits he was “an absolute glory hunter as a kid” who supported Chelsea but now just supports his brother, who made his Everton debut last year.
George runs up to 180km a week
Athletes may be the financial poor relations to footballers but the route to the top is every bit as hard.
British middle distance is currently the strongest it’s been since the 1980s golden era of Ovett, Coe and Cram so even qualifying for major championships is tough.
George, however, is up for the challenge of being an Olympian in 2024.
“The level is incredible at the moment but if I said to you ‘I don’t believe I will make it’, I would be lying. It’s my sole focus. Paris next year is the big goal. But it’s way easier said than done.”
One thing is for sure, he won’t shirk the challenge.
“I’m very much a believer in mindset and the people you surround yourself with. Success breeds success.”