Millfield School is expanding its Year 9 programme with a specialised outdoor adventure module, featuring new excursions, camps and international trips.
Nine at Millfield aims to promote “self-discovery and curiosity within an exhilarating natural environment”, offering a progressive level of challenge intended to encourage confidence, resilience and the ability to work effectively in a team.
13-year-olds who join Millfield in Year 9 will progress through the programme over the course of a year, with the opportunity to experience a three-day camp in Cornwall, caving in the Mendip Hills, canoeing, mountain biking, rock climbing and weekly outdoor adventure expedition sessions.
The programme will culminate with a five-day summer camp in the Forest of Dean, while pupils will also have the opportunity to join international treks in mountainous terrain, including Norway and Iceland.
I can’t wait to see our new pupils jump in with both feet and make the most of this incredible time in their lives
Designed to complement the school’s PSHE (personal, social, health and economic) education curriculum, the new programme encourages pupils to explore the beautiful local Somerset landscape, as well as undertaking internationally recognised outdoor challenges, such as the Ten Tors Challenge and the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
Nine at Millfield seeks to help combine academic enrichment with co-curricular activities, to prepare young adults for future study and life after school. With three dedicated boarding houses and a day house for Year 9 pupils only, Millfield’s on-site housing is overseen by specialist Year 9 housemasters and housemistresses, involved in every aspect of a child’s wellbeing and academic progress. Each house is supported by a high staff to pupil ratio, with senior pupils also playing an important role in mentoring new pupils in their first year.
Millfield’s director of Year 9, Toby Sawrey-Cookson, said: “Nine at Millfield is a programme tailor-made to meet the academic and development needs of 13-14-year olds. We understand that Year 9 is a time of huge change for children, and this new, exciting outdoor adventure programme will create the perfect bonding environment for our incoming pupils and their new friends.
“I can’t wait to see our new pupils jump in with both feet and make the most of this incredible time in their lives.”
