Ages
Gone are the days when Millfield was the place for budding Olympians or dyslexics: it continues to offer all that alongside academic rigour and 100 per cent endeavour in enabling young people to succeed in any area. Strenuous efforts to shed a persistent myth by dishing up terrific results and success stories across the board create a mood of optimism as it counts down to its centenary, ready to weather any slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.
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Unlike other websites, schools can't pay to be included in The Good Schools Guide. This means our review of this school is independent, critical and fair, and written with parents' best interests at heart.
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Overview & data
- Pupil numbers
- 1,281 ·
- Sixth form numbers
- 595 ·
- Offers boarding
- Yes ·
- Religion
- None
- Fees
- Day: £37,191; Boarding: £57,132 pa
- Local authority
- Somerset County Council
- Linked schools
Headteacher
Headmaster
Gavin Horgan
Since 2018, Gavin Horgan MA (Oxon), formerly head of Worksop College. Born and brought up in modest-ish circumstances in SW Scotland, Mr Horgan got a full scholarship to Stonyhurst, so if anyone knows about the transformational power of education,
Entrance
Academically selective; school sets own assessments for year 9 (13+) (computer-based verbal and non-verbal reasoning) and interviews everyone hoping for one of the 200 places on offer, all of which can be done remotely. Places are offered anything
- Open days
- 10 May, 4 October 2025
Exit
About 40 leave post GCSE; tiny numbers from other year groups. Post sixth form, students scatter across the UK (where in 2024 75 per cent got their first choice of university, a third of which were Russell group) and across the pond: 20 per cent h
Latest results
In 2023 and 2024, school published results for the top 100 students only, citing ‘much larger numbers of candidates’. No, we don't follow that logic either.
In 2024, 80 per cent 9-7 at GCSE; 70 per cent A*/A at A level (97 per cent A*-B).
% of pupils achieving AAB or higher, including at least 2 facilitating subjects (2024)
What is this?
Facilitating A levels are ones that are commonly needed for entry to leading universities. They are: biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, further mathematics, geography, history, English literature and classical or modern languages. The % of pupils achieving AAB or higher may therefore decrease if many pupils have opted not to take two or more of the facilitating subjects mentioned.
Teaching & learning
The (soi-disant) ‘brilliance curriculum’ in year 9 is cross-curricular learning by another name. The youngest students are set for maths and languages (five on offer including Latin) but not for English, interestingly. Lessons in digital skills ar
- Qualifications taken in 2024
- A level
- BTEC
- EPQ
- GCSE
- VRQ
Learning support & SEN
Generously staffed department right at the centre of things in all respects, whose six full-time members of staff (two of whom are qualified assessors), three part-time, an in-house speech and language therapist and 10 visiting staff, including tw
Arts & extracurricular
The days when sport was the only game in town (ha!) are long gone. Facilities, staffing and whole shebang are right up there with everything else Millfield has to offer. We were whisked round the dizzying array of theatre, art and music – amenitie
Sport
You name it, and Millfield probably does it – and very well to boot – which may be down to its founding by an accomplished cricketer. Still known for its sporting pre-eminence (but not just for that), Millfield has facilities and staff to rival so
Boarders
Around three-quarters board – just short of a thousand students – in 19 boarding houses dotted round the edge of the campus. Year 9 are placed in dedicated single-sex houses to settle them in, grouped centrally to create a neighbourhood where they
Ethos & heritage
Quite a new kid on the block and different from the start, founded as it was by a cricket-crazy educationalist, Jack (Boss) Meyer, who undertook to get six Indian princes into English public schools, one of whom found those demands very hard, as h
Pastoral care, inclusivity & discipline
Centre stage here and necessarily so in this big, busy, high-achieving school. First port of call for students is their tutor (also for concerned parents), but all are encouraged to find a trusted adult, possibly the spiritual director or counsell
Mobile phone policy
A clear mobile phone policy is a really important part of modern schooling. This school has provided us with their policy.
Mobile phone policy
Provided by the school and not part of our review
We aim to help students learn how to use mobile devices in a positive way. It is important that devices are used responsibly within the school environment. All phones should be handed to the teacher at the start of the lesson (unless specified) and devices are not allowed in the dining hall at breakfast or lunchtime. Boarders use their devices to contact families in private, or at a time that is suitable for all, considering the time zones for international pupils. Year 9, 10 and 11 boarders' devices are handed to their houseparent overnight to safeguard their sleep and wellbeing.
Pupils & parents
No longer the preserve of the exclusively rich and sporty, there is far more economic diversity and lack of pretension than Millfield’s campus might suggest, plus a truly global student body – a draw for many. The fact that as much emphasis is now
Money matters
Scholarships in all usual areas plus chess, dance and product design are offered to a maximum 10 per cent, but school is justifiably proud of the £6.5m it devotes to its bursary programme, giving 100 per cent in exceptional cases. We met a couple
- Fee information
- Day: £37,191; Boarding: £57,132 pa
The last word
Gone are the days when Millfield was the place for budding Olympians or dyslexics: it continues to offer all that alongside academic rigour and 100 per cent endeavour in enabling young people to succeed in any area. Strenuous efforts to shed a per
