Millfield School has gone back to the future in launching its new ethos, ‘the Millfield Way’, invoking the words of its founder, Rollo John Oliver Meyer.
A video outlining ‘the Millfield Way’ showcases school facilities and day-to-day campus life, and is overlaid with narration from Meyer – better known as Boss – as he outlines the principles on which he founded the coeducational independent school in Street, Somerset.
Besides being an educationalist, Meyer was an all-round sportsman who played cricket at first-class level in both England and India.
On his return from India in the mid-1930s, he was entrusted with the education by six princes and so established Millfield in 1935; Millfield Prep followed 11 years later.
His approach was an unusual one, placing value on sports and the arts alongside more traditional academic avenues, with an aim “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”.
Meyer was the school’s headmaster for 35 years.
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Today, Meyer’s successors echo those founding principles, stating: “‘The Millfield Way’ is an attitude that brings together key staff in a child’s life to combine excellence in coaching with excellence in the classroom. Millfield believes that the approach to individual tuition in the classroom and on the sports field can lead to more successful development in children.”
