Basic Information & Location
Milton Abbey is an co-educational independent day and boarding school for students aged between 13 and 18. It was founded in 1954 as a boys’ school with a gothic abbey church. Since 2014, the 60th anniversary of Milton Abbey, it has had girls in all year groups.
Located in the village of Milton Abbas in Southwest England, the school is with 76 acres of rolling countryside, at the same time it has an farm with pigs, sheep, goats, turkeys and chickens, which eble the school to make its own honey and grows flowers, fruit and vegetables.
Academic Development
Milton Abbey tailors each pupil’s education to nurtures and cultivates their natural abilities. It promotes individuality and the pursuit of personal strengths and preferences. Be it sport, academia, the creative arts or a range of outdoor and practical subjects, pupils’ individual work is appreciated.
It also promotes small school and class size to allow students’ great involvement in school life. They all have huge opportunity to represent the school and to master a chosen subject or activity.
After finishing the two-year period GCSEs, students can progress to the A-Level. They can choose three subjects to study, including traditional subjects such as Economics, History and the Sciences, and more modern subjects like Communication & Culture, Modern Foreign Languages and Photography are all provided.
If students wish to undertake the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) alongside their A-Levels, the school will assist them to complete an independent research project. It can help develop independence and research skills, plus earning useful additional UCAS points for future study at university.
Other than A-Level, students can choose to study the BTEC qualifications which offer equivalent academic weighting of A-Levels. It is designed to be more work-related and are particularly suited to students with clear view of their future career.
Milton Abbey is one of a few independent schools to offer Extended BTECs at Level 3, which means students can obtain a qualification equivalent to three A-Levels by studying one subject in great depth. It includes a variety of interesting and practical subjects, such as Countryside Management, Creative Media Production, Performing Arts and Enterprise & Entrepreneurship.
The school doesn’t publish its exam results, as it believes students have such a broad range of ability that their achievements wouldn’t be accurately represented by marks and grades. Though according to the Good Schools Guide, in 2018, 69% students attained A*-C at A level or BTEC equivalent.
The school is also described as ‘ahead of the curve when it comes to vocational learning’. Although BTEC subjects aren’t easy as they are made up of continued assessment, its 2015 ISI report recognized its approach by saying ‘pupils, who often suffering a negative experience of education elsewhere, are enabled to rebuild the foundation of their knowledge and skills, as well as the self-confidence needed to progress.’
After Sixth Form, Milton Abbey students go on to different places, including Russell Group and other universities in the UK or overseas. Some leave having secured apprenticeship or work-based training.
Pastoral Care & Boarding
Owing to its small size, in Milton Abbey teachers and students are having really close relationship. It helps to create a genuine, tolerant and supportive environment which makes students enjoying life at Milton Abbey.
Students are having one-to-one tutoring which runs alongside an academic and extra-curricular programme. Tutors and tutees meet each week to discuss the programme for the week ahead, which helps encourage academic interest and wide participation in cultural, sporting and service-based activities.
The school is currently promoting full-boarding system with a full weekend programme. Students will be assigned to one of the five boarding houses, 3 for boys and 2 for girls. While within their boarding life, hard work and academic determition are balanced with a comprehensive programme of activities and social events.
Extracurricular & personal development
As a full boarding school, Milton Abbey can offer an extensive and varied range of extra-curricular and recreational activities covering sports, arts, culture and community. While sports is a vital part of extra-curricular life here, students need to take part in sport four afternoons per week, with weekday and Saturday competitive fixtures. Students are also involved in a Round Square to join services and community-based events.
Year 9 students mainly participate in activities and talks which focus on life skills, like charity work, study skills, woodland activities, beach and countryside clean-ups, and team-building exercises.
As for Year 10 students, they can choose to join the Combined Cadet Forces (CCF), which is partly funded by the Ministry of Defence and is aimed at developing leadership and military skills. Otherwise, they can choose to take part in a range of Community Service projects, allowing them to contribute to the local community. They can also join the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, discovering new skills and making new friends.
