Millfield
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Millfield is a distinctive Independent school in Street, Somerset, England. It is the largest coeducational boarding school in the country and renowned for its sporting excellence, as well as for dedicated teaching across a very wide range of standards.
The classes are small, sometimes as small as six pupils. In some cases tuition is on a one-to-one basis. Over 200 students go on to University each year, over a quarter of whom go to one of the top ten institutions as listed in The Sunday Times University League Table.
It is one of the most expensive schools in the country, but many pupils receive subsidised tuition in the form of scholarships financed by those who can afford to pay full fees.
The school motto is Molire Molendo. Which roughly trasnlate into drive forward by grinding, hence the name Millfield, where in a Mill grinding.
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[edit] History
Millfield was founded in 1935 by RJO Meyer (always affectionately referred to just as "Boss") in the house originally owned by the Clark family, who owned and ran the major shoe manufacturer Clarks. Over the years the school acquired land and houses around the locale, and a result there were many boarding houses within a 15 mile (25 km) radius of the original site. In recent years, a campus has been developed and most of the boarding houses are close to or on the campus.
[edit] Sports
Millfield is most famous for its sporting prowess. It has a large purpose-built campus, with outstanding facilities and 130 staff sports coaches - possibly the best sport-campus facilities in the United Kingdom. Each year, 25 or more of Millfield's students win international honours across a broad spectrum of games. In recent years, Millfield teams have won national championships in basketball, golf, hockey (indoor and outdoor), girls' athletics, modern pentathlon, triathlon, rugby sevens, boys' and girls' squash, cricket, orienteering, and boys' and girls' tennis. Recent famous sporting products have been rugby players Anthony Allen and Olly Morgan and cricketers Rory Hamilton-Brown, Simon Jones and James Hildreth.
Unusually, quite a few pupils have appeared at the Olympics whilst still at the school.
The sports facilities of the school include:
- 3 Olympic-quality water-based astroturfs
- 2 18-hole golf courses and a driving range
- A running track, with track and field facilities
- 2 multi-purpose sports halls
- A large equestrian centre (including an indoor riding school)
- An indoor tennis centre with numerous courts
- A 50 metre indoor swimming pool
- A large gym and a free weights room
- A fencing salle
- A judo dojo
- Many tennis courts, darts centres, squash courts, rugby pitches, football pitches, cricket pitches and netball courts
[edit] Boarding houses
The school used to be quite unusual in the fact that many of the boarding houses were located in distant villages - requiring the pupils to be bused in each morning and out to games sessions at distant fields etc. However the school has now brought the furthest flung houses onto campus, apart from three houses, St. Anne's, Kingweston and Walton. Several large new boarding houses have been constructed just past the riding school.
The houses include:
Boarding:
- Abbey (Girls)
- Acacia (Girls)
- Butleigh (Boys)
- Etonhurst (Boys)
- Holmcroft (Boys) (was girls)
- Joan's Kitchen (Boys)
- Keen's Elm (Boys)
- Kernick (Boys' house until 1975 - when it became a girls' house)
- Kingweston (Boys)
- Martins (Girls)
- Millfield (6th form Boys)
- Overleigh (Girls)-Now Closed
- Orchards (Boys)
- Portway (6th form Girls)
- St Anne's (Boys)
- Shapwick (Boys)
- Southfield (Girls)
- Walton (Boys)
- Warner (Girls)
Day:
- Bullock (Boys)
- Cookson (Boys)
- Skinner (Boys)
- Witt (Girls-used to be Dye)
- Kightley (Girls-used to be Eagle)
[edit] Millfield Governors
- Adrian E. WhiteFounder and Chairman of Biwater plc. BBC Governor since 1995
- Dr. Mark Bailey, Educated at the Universities of Durham and Cambridge
- Bishop Paul Barber, Honorary Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Bath and Wells
- Ray Burton, Educated at Haberdashers' Aske's and Birmingham University, and then qualified as a chartered accountant
- John Clare, John has been Education Editor for The Daily Telegraph since 1988
- Mrs Judith Derbyshire, solicitor working in private practice in Bristol
- Jonty Driver, Master of Wellington College from 1989-2000
- Gareth Edwards, Wales and British Lions rugby player
- Colin Humphrey, A member of the legal profession for 42 years retiring as Senior Partner of a local firm of solicitors in 2000
- Robert Clark,
[edit] Famous parents
Millfield has been the alma mater for the children of many rich and famous people including:
- Pierce Brosnan
- John Cleese
- Sean Connery
- Hashim Khan
- Adnan Khashoggi
- Henry Mancini
- Arthur Marshman
- Oliver Reed
- Omar Sharif
- Boris Yeltsin (grandparent)
- John Stonehouse
- David Myers
- James Goldsmith
- John Aspinall (zoo owner)
- Ian Woosnam
- Nigel Mansell
- John Hughes
- Tim Martin
- Angelica Huston
- Robert Clark
- Mark Knopfler
- Jerry John Rawlings
- Jon Anderson
- Tony Adams
- Howard Jones
- Keith Allen
- Bhumibol Current King of Thailand
[edit] Notable Old Millfieldians
- Mary Bignall-Rand, Long Jump Gold Medallist in 1964 Olympics
- Tony Blackburn, Radio DJ
- Julian Cayo-Evans, Welsh political activist and leader of the Free Wales Army
- Jason Connery, Actor
- Stewart Copeland, Musician
- Sophie Dahl, model
- Dominic Dromgoole Theatre director and critic
- Gareth Edwards, British Lions and Welsh Rugby International
- Jeremy Edwards, Actor
- Mark Foster, World record holder 25m and 50m Freestyle, Commonwealth, European and World champion 50m Freestyle.
- Duncan Goodhew, 1980 Olympic Gold Medallist in 100m Breaststroke
- David Heath, Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament
- James Hildreth Somerset Cricketer & International
- Simon Jones, England and Glamorgan Cricketer
- Sharif Khan, Squash player from Pakistan
- Maha Vajiralongkorn, Crown Prince and heir to the throne of Thailand.
- Simon Mantell, England International and Olympic Hockey Player
- Matt Perry, British Lions and English Rugby International
- Alex Pettyfer, Actor
- Chris Greenwood, Media celebrity, rapper and honeymonster impersonator
- Reuben Reid, footballer, currently playing for Plymouth Argyle
- John Sergeant, journalist and broadcaster
- John Standing, actor
- Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates
- JPR Williams, British Lions and Welsh Rugby International
- Ben Hollioake, Late England and Surrey cricketer, 1977-2002
- Anthony Allen, Gloucester and England rugby player
- Olly Morgan, Gloucester and England rugby player
- Jason Tranter, Ballet Dancer
- Rory Hamilton-Brown, Surrey and England U19 cricketer
- Atulkumar Ambalal Patel, Chief executive of Kataria holdings in Dubai
- James Hewitt, Army Officer and lover of Diana, Princess of Wales
- Bradley Middleton, Cardiff City FC football player
- Lawrie Wilson, Colchester United FC football player
- Robert Clark
[edit] References
[edit] External links
[edit] Schools in Somerset
Comprehensive Schools: Backwell School | Beechen Cliff School | The Blue School, Wells | The Castle School Taunton | Chew Valley School | Churchill Community School | Clevedon Community School | Court Fields Community School, Wellington | Frome Community College | Gordano School | The Kings of Wessex School | Nailsea Comprehensive School | Priory Community School | Ralph Allen School | West Somerset Community College | Whitstone School
Special Schools: Farleigh College
Former Schools: Ravenscroft School
Independent Schools: All Hallows | Downside School | Hazlegrove Preparatory School | King Edward's School, Bath | King's School, Bruton | Kingswood School | Millfield | Monkton Combe School | Prior Park College | Queen's College, Taunton | Royal High School, Bath | Sidcot School | Taunton School | Wellington School | Wells Cathedral School
