Millfield
Encyclopedia
Millfield is an independent school
in Street
in Somerset
, in south-west England.
The school currently has a roll of 1,260 pupils, of whom 910 are boarders. The school's selection criteria are non-academic and the school offers a number of academic and sports scholarships, and bursaries; a charity, the Millfield Foundation, has been set up to raise funds to fund scholarships and bursaries - this is seen as being important to maintain "the Millfield mix" - an important part of the school's life and ethos, where pupils of all backgrounds benefit from being at school together - irrespective of their family's wealth or background.
(always affectionately referred to at Millfield just as "Boss") in the mansion originally owned by the Clark family, who owned and ran the major shoe
manufacturer Clarks
. In 1939 the school became one of the first independent schools to be co-educational. Over the years the school acquired land and houses around the locale, and a result there were many boarding houses within a 10-mile (16-kilometre) radius of the original site. In recent years, several new boarding houses have been built on the school campus, replacing those situated off-campus.
Students at the school are colloquially referred to as "Miffies".
Meyer's philosophy was, "...to nurture talent by providing the very best facilities, teaching, coaching and opportunities in which young people can exercise and explore their abilities; and to give awards to those in financial need."
In the school's early years, many boarders lived at houses or billets in the outlying villages - being bussed in and out for lessons and meals; over recent years many of these houses have been sold and the proceeds invested in new on-campus boarding houses.
In 2005 the school was one of fifty independent schools which were found guilty of running a price-fixing cartel, exposed by The Times
. Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling £3 million into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information was shared.
, golf
, hockey
(indoor and outdoor), girls' athletics, fencing, modern pentathlon
, triathlon
, rugby union
sevens, boys' and girls' squash
, cricket
, orienteering
, and boys' and girls' tennis
.
The sports facilities of the school include:
In November 2009, the school appointed Dr Graeme Maw, a sports scientist and strategist behind the world championship successes of the British Triathlon team, as its new Director of Sport; Dr Maw has many years' experience in sport in the USA, Australia and the United Kingdom.
ground was held in 1961 when Somerset
played Warwickshire
. Somerset returned to the school ground in 1975, where they played Gloucestershire
in a List-A match in the Benson and Hedges Cup. In 1977, Somerset played their second and final List-A match to date at the ground against Hampshire
. The school ground has also held a number of Somerset Second XI matches in the Minor Counties Championship, Second XI Championship
and Second XI Trophy, hosting 6 Second XI fixtures in total.
The pitch has a tree within its boundary.
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
in Street
Street, Somerset
Street is a small village and civil parish in the county of Somerset, England. It is situated on a dry spot in the Somerset Levels, at the end of the Polden Hills, south-west of Glastonbury. The 2001 census records the village as having a population of 11,066...
in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, in south-west England.
The school currently has a roll of 1,260 pupils, of whom 910 are boarders. The school's selection criteria are non-academic and the school offers a number of academic and sports scholarships, and bursaries; a charity, the Millfield Foundation, has been set up to raise funds to fund scholarships and bursaries - this is seen as being important to maintain "the Millfield mix" - an important part of the school's life and ethos, where pupils of all backgrounds benefit from being at school together - irrespective of their family's wealth or background.
- The school is a member of the G20 SchoolsG20 SchoolsAll the schools claim to have a commitment to excellence and innovation of some sort. The G20 Schools have an annual conference which aims to bring together a group of school Heads who want to look beyond the parochial concerns of their own schools and national associations, and to talk through...
Group. - Millfield School has its own Preparatory school - Millfield Preparatory SchoolMillfield Preparatory SchoolMillfield Preparatory School is a Preparatory school in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. It is the feeder school for Millfield and part of the Millfield school group. At Millfield, the prep' school is commonly referred to as Edgarley....
at Edgarley Hall, situated in nearby Glastonbury, SomersetGlastonburyGlastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,784 in the 2001 census...
.
History
Millfield was founded in 1935 by RJO MeyerJack Meyer (educator and cricketer)
Rollo John Oliver Meyer , known generally as 'Jack', and at Millfield mainly as 'Boss', was an English educationalist who founded Millfield School and Millfield Preparatory School in Somerset; he was also an all-round sportsman who played cricket at first-class level in both England and in India...
(always affectionately referred to at Millfield just as "Boss") in the mansion originally owned by the Clark family, who owned and ran the major shoe
Shoe
A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot while doing various activities. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture to culture, with appearance originally being tied to function...
manufacturer Clarks
C&J Clark
C. and J. Clark International Ltd, trading as Clarks, is a British, international shoe manufacturer and retailer based in Street, Somerset, England...
. In 1939 the school became one of the first independent schools to be co-educational. Over the years the school acquired land and houses around the locale, and a result there were many boarding houses within a 10-mile (16-kilometre) radius of the original site. In recent years, several new boarding houses have been built on the school campus, replacing those situated off-campus.
Students at the school are colloquially referred to as "Miffies".
Meyer's philosophy was, "...to nurture talent by providing the very best facilities, teaching, coaching and opportunities in which young people can exercise and explore their abilities; and to give awards to those in financial need."
In the school's early years, many boarders lived at houses or billets in the outlying villages - being bussed in and out for lessons and meals; over recent years many of these houses have been sold and the proceeds invested in new on-campus boarding houses.
In 2005 the school was one of fifty independent schools which were found guilty of running a price-fixing cartel, exposed by The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
. Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling £3 million into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information was shared.
Sports
Millfield is know internationally as a sports school; its large purpose-built campus, houses a wide range of facilities. 130 staff sports coaches oversee the different sports on offer, including basketballBasketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
(indoor and outdoor), girls' athletics, fencing, modern pentathlon
Modern pentathlon
The modern pentathlon is a sports contest that includes five events: pistol shooting, épée fencing, 200 m freestyle swimming, show jumping, and a 3 km cross-country run...
, triathlon
Triathlon
A triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances...
, rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
sevens, boys' and girls' squash
Squash (sport)
Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
, cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, orienteering
Orienteering
Orienteering is a family of sports that requires navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain, and normally moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specially prepared orienteering map, which they...
, and boys' and girls' tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
.
The sports facilities of the school include:
- 2 eighteen-hole golf courses and a driving range
- 2 multi-purpose sports halls
- 3 Olympic-quality water-based astroturfAstroTurfAstroTurf is a brand of artificial turf. Although the term is a registered trademark, it is sometimes used as a generic description of any kind of artificial turf. The original AstroTurf product was a short pile synthetic turf while the current products incorporate modern features such as...
s - A 50-metre indoor swimming pool
- A fencingFencingFencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
salle - A full-sized cricket pitch with practice facilities
- A judoJudois a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
dojoDojoA is a Japanese term which literally means "place of the way". Initially, dōjōs were adjunct to temples. The term can refer to a formal training place for any of the Japanese do arts but typically it is considered the formal gathering place for students of any Japanese martial arts style to... - A large equestrian centre (including an indoor riding school)
- A large gymGymThe word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
and a free weights room - A running track, with track and field facilities
- An indoor tennis centre with numerous courts
- Large multi use playing fields for rugby and football pitches
- Many tennis courts, darts centres, squash and netball courts.
In November 2009, the school appointed Dr Graeme Maw, a sports scientist and strategist behind the world championship successes of the British Triathlon team, as its new Director of Sport; Dr Maw has many years' experience in sport in the USA, Australia and the United Kingdom.
Cricket ground
The only full County match on the school's cricketCricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
ground was held in 1961 when Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
played Warwickshire
Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Warwickshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...
. Somerset returned to the school ground in 1975, where they played Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Gloucestershire. Its limited overs team is called the Gloucestershire Gladiators....
in a List-A match in the Benson and Hedges Cup. In 1977, Somerset played their second and final List-A match to date at the ground against Hampshire
Hampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it...
. The school ground has also held a number of Somerset Second XI matches in the Minor Counties Championship, Second XI Championship
Second XI Championship
The Second XI Championship is a season-long cricket competition in England that is competed for by the reserve teams of those county cricket clubs that have first-class status...
and Second XI Trophy, hosting 6 Second XI fixtures in total.
The pitch has a tree within its boundary.
2012 Olympic Games
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games has confirmed that Millfield appears in the official London 2012 Pre-Games Training Camp Guide. The Russian swimming team has confirmed that it will use the school as its swimming training base.Other facilities
- Art gallery
- Concert hall and recording suites
- Meyer theatre
- Squash courts
Headmasters
- 1935-1971 Jack 'Boss' MeyerJack Meyer (educator and cricketer)Rollo John Oliver Meyer , known generally as 'Jack', and at Millfield mainly as 'Boss', was an English educationalist who founded Millfield School and Millfield Preparatory School in Somerset; he was also an all-round sportsman who played cricket at first-class level in both England and in India...
- 1971-1986 Colin AtkinsonColin AtkinsonColin Ronald Michael Atkinson CBE - Cricketer, schoolmaster and headmaster of Millfield School....
- 1986-1990 Brian Gaskell
- 1990-1998 Christopher Martin
- 1998-2008 Peter Johnson
- 2008- Craig Considine
Notable alumni
Former pupils of the school are known as Old Millfieldians or OMs.External links
- Millfield School website
- Millfield Preparatory School website
- Millfield: A School For All Seasons - a history of the school by former pupils and masters
- Profile at the Good Schools Guide
- Millfield School at CricketArchiveCricketArchiveCricketArchive is a website that aims to provide a comprehensive archive of records relating to the sport of cricket. It claims to be the most comprehensive cricket database on the internet, including scorecards for all matches of first-class cricket , List A cricket , Women's Test cricket and...
- Millfield School at CricinfoCricinfoESPNcricinfo is believed to be the largest cricket-related website on the World Wide Web. Content includes news,articles, live scorecards,live text commentary and a comprehensive and searchable database called 'StatsGuru', of historical matches and players from the 18th century to the present...