Achievements

The sporting achievements of students who attend Millfield

Sport can take students to many wonderful places beyond Millfield, whether that is to US or UK universities through scholarships, or on to the next stage of their career in national and international sport. We recognise how fortunate we have been to play a role that may have contributed to a student's career in sport. We are equally proud to recognise and value the benefit that sport has to people in their lives and the impact it may have had in whatever career they may go on to.

Millfield is home to nearly 60 international youth representatives at any one time and a small number of students go on to to compete at professional, Olympic or Paralympic level after they have left Millfield. Equally, a number go on to achieve accolades in medicine, business, art and music and they look fondly back on their experiences at Millfield through sport.

Our connection with high achievers in sport allows us to attract and host national teams when visiting the UK for international competitions or to hold and host camps for GB senior and junior squads. This provides amazing development experiences for our own students and coaching staff to remain technically relevant when it comes to development in sport. 

As well as our students, and our facilities, many of our coaches and support staff play significant roles at national and international levels in their sport. We believe this is great external recognition of their coaching abilities in development and performance sport. Many coach outside Millfield and are able to bring those experiences and insights back to the school and share with teacher-coaches and students to benefit their development.

We will continue to support high ability and high potential children through sport and provide a deliberately designed, different, development experience to compliment those that have emerged in national and international sporting systems. We are always looking to remain relevant to the emerging trends in sport both nationally and internationally and will constantly evolve and adapt to do so.

Our connection to history

Many internationally renowned sportsmen and women attended Millfield as part of their early development experiences. Rugby players include Wales legend JPR Williams and his compatriot and Lions star Gareth Edwards, England player Chris Robshaw and 2013 Lions player Mako Vunipola. Pam Cookey in netball; in cricket, Ashes winner Simon Jones, World T20 champion Craig Kieswetter and his former batting partner, West Indies opener Kieran Powell, are among a host of current First Class level players that attended the school. In football, Tyrone Mings, England and Aston Villa attended Millfield Sixth Form.

Students who attended Millfield have been seen at every Olympic Games since 1956. Swimmer Duncan Goodhew won Gold and Bronze in Moscow 1980; hockey player Stephen Batchelor won Bronze in LA 1984 and gold in Séoul 1988; and Mary Bignal-Rand made history by winning Gold, Silver and Bronze at the 1964 Tokyo games - in long jump, pentathlon and 4x100m relay respectively. Eight Millfieldians, including Class of 2016 swimmer Cameron Kurle, competed at the Rio 2016 Olympics. Helen Glover repeated her performance at London 2012, winning a Gold medal in rowing, Ollie Lindsay-Hague won Silver with the first ever Olympic Rugby 7s Great Britain team and James Guy won two Silver medals in the pool. James Guy furthered his success at Tokyo 2020 (in 2021) bringing home two gold medals and a silver medal, when 13 OMs competed at the games.

These individuals represent a very small proportion of young people who have benefited in different ways from their time at Millfield through sport. We are proud to have played a small role in their personal success whether through sport or through the other holistic experiences they have through the school in the classroom, through co-curricular or through our extensive boarding experience. 

Sport will always play a role in student and parent experience at Millfield. We are proud of our commitment to the benefits it can bring alongside all other elements of a holistic development experience. All that matters in life, matters in sport.