Thank you to those of you who completed the Parents' Day 2010 survey asking for feedback on the day and its change of format.  We have listened to your comments and are making some changes to this year’s Parents’ Day to ensure the day is enjoyable for you.

Parents’ Day will take place on Saturday 2nd July. The day will start at a later time of 10.30am to allow more time for travel and will see a Junior Assembly (Year 9 – Lower Sixth) in the morning followed by a return to a lunch in the Boarding Houses and in one central marquee for the Day Houses. Parents are welcome after the House lunches to visit the Pimms Tent, watch sport, visit the Atkinson Gallery or listen to some music. The Upper Sixth Leavers’ Assembly and Leavers’ Reception will take place from 2pm.  Invitations will be sent out nearer the time confirming the revised programme of the day.

Following damage by a flood at the start of the year, the Sixth Form Club has been refurbished and was reopened last Friday. I was very pleased to attend the opening with the refurbishment team and prefects so we could all sample the new facilities. The space has been re-worked giving a much more versatile function room; with areas for private study, social areas with sofas and an impressive cafe/bar area. I very much hope to see the new Club put to good use. To see more photos of the reopening event please click here.

L-R: Max Baxter-Allen and Xiaofei Peng

I am extremely proud to announce that two Millfield pupils have been placed in the top 50 nationally in round 2 of the British Mathematical Olympiad (BMO2). Max Baxter-Allen and Xiaofei Peng (L6) both achieved 11 marks out of a possible 40. This may not appear that impressive until you consider that the questions are extremely difficult and that most graduates in mathematics would struggle to answer them. The British Mathematical Olympiad forms part of the selection process for the UK International Mathematical Olympiad team. This year ten Millfield pupils sat BMO1 and six sat BMO2.

Dr Ceri Fiddes, Head of Maths, Millfield, “this really is an impressive achievement; BMO2 is one of the hardest exams offered to school pupils and only sat by the very best.”

Pupils in Years 9 to 11 have recently received their results from the UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge. Seventeen have received gold certificates and thirteen of these will go on to sit the follow on rounds later this month.

Business and Economics pupils had the opportunity last week to visit London and experience for themselves the UK’s financial epicentre - the City of London. Their first stop was the insurance market at Lloyd’s, where director Mel Goddard allowed pupils to rub shoulders with brokers and underwriters in “the Room”. Pupils then experienced open outcry trading at the London Metal Exchange.

At the Bank of England, pupils toured panelled meeting rooms and mosaic floors, culminating in a lunch with a member of the interest rate setting Monetary Policy Committee, Professor David Miles, where he gave pupils a revealing insight into the series of steps taken each month to arrive at the base rate. Their last meeting in London was with Peter Mason, OM and now a director of the highly profitable Investment Banking Division of Barclays Capital. The bank receives 56,000 job applications each year. Pupils were introduced to two successful graduates who described what it takes to land an internship and eventually a job at the bank.  

Sixth Form historians recently had the opportunity to attend lectures from a number of leading academics at the annual Millfield History Conference. The talks addressed a number of the topics students have been studying for their A levels, including Opposition and Resistance in Nazi Germany, Lenin’s Russia and Religion and Rebellion in Tudor England. A number of schools from the south-west also attended the Conference, along with enthusiastic members of the local community. The Conference provided Millfield pupils with an invaluable insight into learning at university level and the potential challenges and rewards to be experienced by continuing to study this fascinating subject in the future.

L-R: Scott Prior, Tom Bradby, Miss Bowring, Freddie Gabbitass and Sarah Woods

ITV News Political Editor Tom Bradby revealed the highs and lows of his career in journalism last Friday as he gave a talk to Sixth Form pupils. Mr Bradby gave a detailed insight into the various roles he has worked in during his 20-year career and offered advice to pupils who want to carve out a career in journalism.

Read more

I am sure that many of you will have heard of the government’s plans to increase university tuition fees for English residents from September 2012, and Millfield students have been fully appraised of these.

Although the detailed proposals have not yet been finalised, it is known that fees for English residents starting university in 2012/2013 will rise from the current £3,375 p.a. to between £6,000 and £9,000 p.a. Recent press reports have tended to suggest that many universities will set these fees at the £9,000 level. However, those who enter university in September 2011 will benefit from being charged at the current level (plus inflation) for the entirety of their degree course.

The effect of these changes on the current Upper Sixth has been profound. Most have, unsurprisingly, opted not to take a gap year, and this pattern has been repeated nationally with applications increasing by 7%, although this has varied greatly from subject to subject and from university to university. The year group has been fortunate to avoid the increased fees, but they will be under great pressure to meet the exact terms of their offers on 18th August.

It is fair to assume that the Lower Sixth might well benefit from less competition, and parents might like to know that tuition fees will not be demanded on entry and the students will be liable for repayment at a low rate of interest once they are earning over £21,000 p.a. Means–tested bursaries will also be available.

These new arrangements apply only to English residents and other UK and Islands residents can find out their fee details at www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance. Overseas residents have been completely unaffected by these changes and are treated differently; their applications not competing with those of home students at all.

Please do not hesitate to contact the Higher Education & Careers Department if you have any questions on this or any other university matters at careers@millfieldschool.com.