Millfield students host Tea and Dance for local Community

Millfield students recently hosted a Tea and Dance event in the local community.  

The students decorated Crispin Hall, in Street, for elderly local residents to enjoy the social event. They served tea and coffee, sang, danced, tidied up at the end and happily talked and laughed with the elderly participants, bringing old and young generations together. Many students also stayed on to help in the soup kitchen afterwards. 

Before the event, some of the students undertook a lesson in ballroom dancing so that they could enhance the experience for the members of the public participating. 

The afternoon was so popular it has now become a termly event as part of the Millfield Brilliance Award (MBA). The MBA is a new project which has the dual aim of giving back to the community and educating students on philanthropy, with students and staff volunteering time, support, teaching and providing resources locally and worldwide. 

Millfield Art and Photography teacher and MBA lead, Gayle Bicknell, who assisted the students with the event said, “They all worked very hard to put on this fantastic event. They were awesome, enthusiastic, and sympathetic, displayed all five school values and were utterly dedicated to making the event a success. The gratitude from those who attended was quite humbling.” 

All Lower Sixth students are enrolled onto the MBA programme at the start of the year and students continue this in Upper Sixth with Year 9, 10 and 11 getting involved through weekly activities and leadership volunteering. The programme is designed to build skills in four areas of personal development whilst students become aware of their place in society. MBA initiatives include hosting weekly lessons with Elmhurst Junior School, Brookside Academy and St Dunstan’s, partnering with Q. Learning Nepal Trust CIO, starting a pen-pal scheme and planning an expedition to Nepal in October 2023, volunteering at Glastonbury’s Silver Street Allotment and hosting an inaugural wellbeing day for 100 St Dunstan’s pupils, on nutrition, yoga and mindfulness.