After hours
“The key pastoral block is the house, which is really where we want to get the balance right. As much as possible we want it to be a home away from School for the pupils, not an extension of School. I really try to discourage teachers from going into the boarding houses and saying “Where is my geography prep?!” because that’s the pupils home. We do try to keep class related things up here in the School, not down in the house. We want pupils to be a bit freer down there”.
Mr Giles Neeve, Head of Pastoral Care
Prep
Prep is work by tutors for pupils to complete outside of class, usually in preparation for their next lesson. It generally allows for pupils to carry out their own independent research and work outside of the classroom, giving pupils who are going on to university good experience and practise for their courses, and giving all pupils experience of working independently and using their own initiative. For boarders, it is done back at the boarding house in the evening.
For boarders there is a specified time set aside each evening for them to complete their prep. Although there is some variation from house to house, generally for 3rd year pupils this is from 7pm until 8.30pm. This is extended until 8.45pm for the 4th year, and until 9pm for the 5th and 6th year, as they have more work to do whilst preparing for their GCSE, AS Level.
After hours socialising and facilities
From 9pm onwards, after pupils have eaten their supper and completed their prep, the campus is reopened and pupils are free to socialise or play sport until 10pm. Many pupils gather at the main campus Astroturf to play football, with others just meeting up to chat. In the summer term pupils congregate to play tennis, as the campus astro is marked up with around 30 tennis courts for the duration of the term, meaning that there's always enough room for everyone to play. Some pupils prefer to work on their fitness in the evening instead, and so can go to the gym which is open for an hour and a half every evening. This gives pupils the chance to develop their social skills and to learn to relax and unwind at the end of the day.
Weekends and Exeats
Millfield makes sure that there is always a diverse range of exciting and interesting things for boarders to do at the weekends, aiming to cater for as wide a range of needs and desires as possible. For example, the bar is open on Saturday evenings to the Sixth Form, and for the other years there are film nights and hops. Many events have different themes and focuses, so there is always something different going on. The campus facilities such as the swimming pool and sports halls are open for pupils to use on Sunday and individual houses often organise trips such as to the cinema, paint-balling or go-karting. The library is also open on Sundays for pupils wanting to catch up or concentrate on their work. On Sunday evenings, many of the boys' boarding houses reserve the Jubilee Sports Hall so that they can have a house 5-a-side football match, with rival houses sometimes playing against each other.
Boarders are allowed to go away for the weekend a maximum of 4 times in the Autumn Term and 3 times in the Spring and Summer Terms, from Saturday lunchtime if you’re a girl and after games if you’re a boy, until 10pm on Sunday. Prefects are allowed an extra exeat each term, and can leave at break time. Boarders can also go out with friends or family on Sundays, and there are no restrictions on how many times you do this. Most pupils find that the amount of exeats allowed per term is plenty, as there so many things happening at school that they don't want to miss out on!
