STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) is an integral part of Millfield’s curriculum, and the school offers a wide range of activities in addition to the core syllabus to help students develop their skills and understanding.

The idea that STEM subjects do not need to be isolated is key in inspiring the students to spark deeper interests. Deputy Head (Academic), Alexandra Haydon introduced the school’s Brilliance Curriculum in September 2020 and has worked with the teaching body to regain ownership of the school curriculum by encouraging teachers to evaluate what they teach, why they teach it, the teaching sequence, and ways that both disciplinary and inter-disciplinary understanding can be developed. Alexandra said, “The Brilliance Curriculum is inspirational in nature, aspirational in scope and carefully planned so that each topic within a subject builds on the knowledge and skills learnt previously and links explicitly to other areas of the Millfield curriculum, for example the teaching of the importance of water purification in Geography is followed by the teaching of different mechanisms for water purification in Chemistry, with teachers from each department explicitly referring to this cross curricular link. Core concepts in all subjects are used as the catalyst for personal discovery rather than where knowledge and ambition are stifled by exam specifications.“

Space is a key focus of the Brilliance Curriculum in Year 9, covering astronomy, Mars, the Apollo 11 landing, stars and exoplanets to name a few. The school organises lecturers to visit and discuss different topics to expand the students’ knowledge; open to all year groups, a recent talk from a professor focused on exoplanets and the nature of scientific research in this area. The physics department brings STEM to life through innovative interactive e-books with imaginative diagrams and activities, such as time-lapse night sky photography to encourage learning and curiosity amongst the students and inspire them to find out more.