Jan Milburn was a student at MLC School from 1st Form in 1950 to 5th Form in 1954. She was a member of the Tildesley Tennis Team for two years and in her final year at School, Jan was on the Excelsior and Sports Committees and was a Senior Prefect. At the age of just 16 she completed the Leaving Certificate and secured a Commonwealth Scholarship. She commenced a BA and a DipEd at the University of Sydney in 1955.

By 1959, Jan was teaching at Strathfield Girls High, and in 1961, she was appointed by the Department of Education to teach English and History at what was then, the new, challenging, multicultural and co-educational Sefton High School.

Jan’s love for her old school drew her back and she commenced as an English teacher at MLC School in 1962. During her time back at the School, she also completed her Master of Education.

In 1965, Jan moved to London to study for her PhD at the Institute of Education at London University. She completed a historical thesis titled ‘The Secondary Schoolmistress: A Study of her Professional Views and their Significance in the Educational Developments of the Period 1895-1914’. The Association of Head Mistresses, the focus of her PhD, was the first professional body of women in the UK and was in operation from 1874 to 1977. Jan was the first person to be granted access to the their archives, held at the University of Warwick, Coventry, UK. In 1973, she was made an Honorary Member of the Association of Head Mistresses.

Returning to MLC School, Jan was the Head of English from 1970 to 1972, and in 1973, Jan and her husband relocated to Armidale so she could take up the position of Headmistress at New England Girls School (NEGS) where she remained for 17 years.

In 1989 Jan resigned from NEGS and from her position as Chair of the Association of Heads of Independent Girls Schools1 to return to Sydney and open her own education consultancy specialising in strategic planning and educational financial management. Her consultancy and board roles during this time include Sydney Anglican Schools Corporation (now The Anglican Schools Corporation) and Tudor House as well as working for the Association of Independent Schools on their Block Grants Authority (BGA) Committee. (The BGA dealt with schools of diverse cultural and religious backgrounds, including Islamic and Greek Orthodox faith schools.)

From 1998 to 2006, Jan was also the Chair of the College Council of Roseville College. After resigning from the Council, Jan continued her work in education and for 27 years helped develop tertiary educational opportunities for veterans and their families, while also serving on the Wenona Board of Governors from 2006 to 2012.

For almost three decades, Jan was a volunteer with the Australian Veterans’ Children Assistance Trust (AVCAT), providing her knowledge and experience to the Trust in a voluntary capacity. The principal activity of the AVCAT is the selection and administration of the recipients of the Long Tan Bursary Scheme (for children and grandchildren of Vietnam Veterans) on behalf of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Jan was the Trust’s long-term Chairman of Education and Chair of the National Selection Committee. In 2011 she was honoured with the presentation of a National Volunteer Award for services to the community by the Hon Tanya Plibersek MP, Minister for Human Services.

In 2014, Jan received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) from retiring NSW Governor, Her Excellency Professor The Honourable Dame Marie Bashir, for service to education, and to veterans and their families.

In Feb 2014, after NEGS Armidale posted on Facebook their congratulations to Dr Milburn on receiving the OAM, MLC School Old Girl, Kim Smith (1974), replied: 'Dr Milburn, you probably don’t remember me, I was in Year 8 at MLC School when you saw something in me that others hadn’t. I went to Sydney Uni and did Arts Law and have been a solicitor for 40 years. I married, had three boys educated at Newington. My entire lifestyle and enjoyment I owe to you. Thank you.'

In an interview in the 2020-2 edition of The Rose, a publication of Roseville College, Jan said that her school education 'was characterised by wonderful teachers who made a real difference to their students. They put the welfare of students first and focused on them as whole people, and that influenced my approach to teaching when I later chose that as my career path.'

1. Jan is a Life Member of the Association of Heads of Independent Girls’ Schools (NSW), was involved in establishing the Southern Highlands Branch of the Australian Federation of Graduate Women (AFGW) NSW and has been a long and respected contributor to the AFGW’s aims.