Millfield Tennis Academy

A performance hub inside a full boarding school

Millfield Tennis Academy sits at the heart of Millfield School in Street, Somerset, a campus known across the United Kingdom for combining ambitious sport with serious academics. Tennis here did not arrive as a side project. It has grown for decades within a culture that expects pupils to chase high standards on court and in the classroom. The result is a program that lets players push for national and international competition while staying on track with exams and university preparation.

The tennis arm is fully integrated into school life. Pupils move from morning lessons to afternoon squads without the long commutes that chip away at training quality. Boarders live on campus, day students travel a short distance, and both groups train within the same framework. In January 2025 the school appointed former Women’s Tennis Association professional Lauren English as Director of Tennis. Her arrival signalled a renewed focus on performance detail and coach development, with a clear brief to sharpen the pathway from school squads to elite junior competition. She stepped into a program with strong foundations and the resources of a large multi sport school behind it.

Founding mindset and growth

Millfield School was founded in the 1930s with a progressive view of education that included sport as a central pillar. Tennis grew steadily through the postwar years, gathered momentum as the school expanded its facilities, and in recent decades matured into a structured academy with year round squads, competition planning, and athletic development services. The academy’s identity reflects the wider school: ambitious, pragmatic, and shaped by the simple belief that daily habits create results.

Why Somerset works for tennis

Street is a small town set a few miles from Glastonbury, close to the hills and open spaces that give Somerset its relaxed pace. For tennis, the location matters in three ways.

First, the climate is relatively mild by British standards. Winters can be wet, but spring and autumn often deliver playable temperatures that keep outdoor training relevant. Second, travel is manageable. The campus is reachable from London via regional rail hubs and by road from Bristol and Exeter, which simplifies tournament logistics. Third, once on campus, everything is walkable. Pupils move from classrooms to courts in minutes, and that efficiency adds up across a term.

Facilities that protect training time

A key advantage of Millfield Tennis Academy is simple scale. The tennis footprint is larger than most school based programs and rivals many standalone academies. The facility mix protects training time in all seasons and supports multiple ability groups on the same afternoon.

Courts and playing surfaces

• An indoor tennis centre provides year round training and the ability to keep squads on track when weather turns.
• More than twenty outdoor hard courts allow the academy to run several squads at once, schedule regular match play, and stage internal events that mirror tournament settings.
• Two natural grass courts open during the British summer. These give players valuable experience with lower bounces, quicker points, and the movement patterns that grass demands.

The sheer number of courts matters. Fewer cancelled sessions and more match play slots translate into steadier skill acquisition, better load management, and more chances to apply coaching themes in competitive settings.

Performance support and technology

The tennis programme draws on the school’s broader performance ecosystem. Purpose built strength and conditioning spaces are staffed by coaches who understand long term athletic development. Screening, injury prevention, and return to play protocols are embedded. On court, coaches use video as needed for technical review and employ match charting to connect practice habits with competitive patterns. The approach is pragmatic. Technology is a support, not a distraction, and is used to reinforce how each player learns.

Boarding that supports performance

Boarders live in supervised houses with houseparents, tutors, and structured study periods. That framework helps teenagers balance training loads with coursework, especially around exam windows. Mealtimes, recovery routines, and evening check ins offer the kind of consistency that is hard to replicate at a day club alone. For many families this structure is the difference between good intentions and a schedule that actually works.

Coaching team and philosophy

Millfield’s coaching staff blends international playing experience with performance development credentials. Director of Tennis Lauren English brings tour insight and a coach education background that aligns with the Lawn Tennis Association system. Head of Tennis Dan Manlow, a former NCAA Division I player and assistant coach, has led the on court program structure since 2023 with a focus on progression from school squads to national level competition. Day to day delivery comes from a bench of full time performance coaches, supported by additional LTA accredited staff, which gives the academy the depth to split groups by age, level, and goals.

A shared philosophy

Philosophically, the programme leans into dual development. Players build a strong competitive tennis identity while maintaining standards in the classroom. Coaches map long term technical priorities, term by term tactical themes, and physical benchmarks that reflect a player’s age and competition schedule. Communication is frequent across coaches, teachers, and boarding houses so weekly load is managed with exams, travel, and recovery in mind. The staff adjusts as needed, whether by backing off volume before a mock exam or inserting a lighter week after a run of matches.

Programs you can join

Millfield structures its offerings so families can match commitment level with the right layer of support. The windows below describe how pupils typically engage with the academy.

High Performance Programme, year round

The core pathway for committed players aged 13 to 18. It includes daily squads, individual lessons, athletic development, competition planning, and support for tournament travel. Players compete across domestic LTA events, Tennis Europe tournaments, and ITF junior events where appropriate. The design is flexible so volume can be shaped around academics. Coaches moderate loads during exam weeks and prioritise match readiness before key events.

Sixth Form performance pathway

Tailored for players aged 16 to 18 who are preparing for university placement, including those targeting United States college tennis. Scheduling aligns with A Level or equivalent courses. Sessions emphasise match toughness, set play, and serve plus one patterns that convert directly to college dual matches. Players receive guidance on highlight video, outreach to coaches, and application timelines.

Recreational school tennis, summer term

Students who want a lighter touch can join squads up to three times per week during the summer term. This track keeps tennis social and competitive with fixtures against nearby schools, leaving afternoons open for other activities.

Holiday junior tennis camps

During the summer, week long camps welcome players in the younger age brackets for full days of coaching and match play on campus. Pricing varies by year. The focus is skill growth, confidence, and enjoyment within a structured daily plan. For families abroad, the camps also serve as an introduction to the school and its coaching style.

Individual coaching and add ons

Private lessons, small group hitting, and targeted blocks for serve, return, or transition skills are available by arrangement. These are effective when a player is correcting a specific technical habit or preparing for a focused run of events.

How Millfield trains the player

A good academy describes its training with clarity. Millfield does so across five pillars: technical, tactical, physical, mental, and competitive.

Technical detail

Expect a premium on repeatable contact and footwork that holds up on wet, cool days and on quick hard courts. Live ball volume is used to reinforce shape, depth, and height, with constraint drills designed to cue the right decisions rather than isolate strokes in a vacuum. Video clips provide anchors for change and help keep language consistent across the coaching team.

Tactical practice

Each term carries a tactical theme linked to the competition calendar. Spring may emphasise neutral ball discipline and rally tolerance. Summer often pivots to first strike patterns that fit British hard courts and grass. Coaches pressure test these themes with set play, tie breakers, and point construction games that demand decision making under fatigue.

Physical preparation

Athletic development follows an age banded progression. Younger athletes learn basic strength patterns, sprint mechanics, and landing strategies that protect knees and backs. Older athletes track speed, elasticity, and repeat sprint ability with targeted work two to three times per week, integrated with on court loads. Monitoring is simple and consistent. The goal is to build durable movers who can repeat quality efforts in the third set.

Mental skills

Routines before and between points, reset behaviours after errors, and responses to pressure are trained within daily squads. Each player sets a few measurable objectives per training block, such as first serve percentage under scoreboard pressure or break point conversion in practice sets. Match charting feedback is delivered in clear language so teenagers can own the numbers without overthinking.

Competition planning

Millfield schedules internal match play every week in term time and clusters external events around school breaks. The academy travels to fixtures against other schools, universities, and regional academies. Entries into LTA, Tennis Europe, and ITF events are recommended based on stage, not just age, with an eye on long term development. Parents receive planning timelines far in advance so travel and holidays can be organised early.

Alumni and outcomes

The school’s tennis alumni include former British number one Andrew Castle, doubles specialists Scott Clayton and Purav Raja, and junior international Luke Hammond. Recent seasons have featured students earning first senior ranking points, selections to national training camps, and steady movement through domestic age group levels. For many graduates, the next step is a scholarship to a United States university, where their tennis development continues alongside a degree.

Culture and life on campus

The culture feels like a sports school rather than a club attached to a school. Mornings are academic, squads run through the afternoon, and boarders move to dinner and supervised study in the evening. Weekend fixtures and events are common when the calendar allows. Because Millfield houses elite programmes in swimming, rugby, hockey, and more, the tennis cohort trains within a performance minded environment where discipline, recovery, and accountability are normal.

Safeguarding and pastoral care are built in. Houseparents and tutors help with logistics like illness, late returns from tournaments, and exam stress. The support network is often the unseen advantage of a school based academy. Teenagers do not have to solve adult tasks alone, and that stability lets them focus on progress.

Costs, accessibility, and scholarships

Millfield is an independent school with fees charged per term for day and boarding students. Published ranges change annually, and families should confirm current figures with admissions. Scholarships and means tested bursaries are available, and tennis specific coaching within the High Performance Programme is included as part of the school’s sport provision. Add ons such as extra individual lessons or external tournament travel may carry additional costs. Families looking for a shorter experience can explore the open summer camps, which provide a focused introduction to the academy’s training style without a full term commitment.

What sets Millfield apart

• Scale and reliability. An indoor tennis centre, two natural grass courts, and more than twenty outdoor hard courts keep training consistent in all seasons. For a school based programme, that density of courts is rare.
• Depth of coaching. A director with tour experience, a head of tennis with NCAA Division I credentials, and a bench of LTA accredited coaches create coverage for different ages and needs. Structured communication keeps messages aligned across groups.
• True dual pathway. Players can push toward national and international events without stepping out of mainstream academics. The balance is designed into the day, not added later.
• Boarding that supports performance. House routines, mealtimes, and study support help teenagers hold a schedule that would be difficult to maintain at a day club.

Useful comparisons and pathways

Families in the United Kingdom often consider how a school based programme connects with national hubs. Millfield players who spend parts of the year in London may find it helpful to understand training at the LTA National Tennis Centre for additional sparring or coach education opportunities. For those focused on the British performance pathway at under 16 and under 18, it can be informative to read about pathways into Loughborough University NTA and how centralised models approach periodisation. International families comparing European options sometimes look at year round models in Spain. A useful reference is compare with the Rafa Nadal Academy to understand differences in climate, travel, and tournament circuits.

Future outlook and vision

With Lauren English guiding the programme and a coaching team that values collaboration, the near term focus is on daily quality. Expect continued investment in coach development, sport science integration that stays athlete centred, and fixtures that expose players to a variety of styles. The academy’s size and alignment with the wider school position it to grow without diluting standards. Early signs from recent cohorts, including first senior points and national selections, suggest the approach is working.

Is it for you

Millfield Tennis Academy suits families who want serious performance tennis inside a full boarding or day school structure. It is a strong fit for 13 to 18 year olds who aim to play national or international junior events while pursuing rigorous academics, or who want a clear route to United States college tennis. The programme offers the court capacity to protect training time, the coaching depth to individualise plans, and the pastoral support to make life manageable during busy terms.

If you value a large, multi sport campus with a clear tennis pathway, are comfortable with independent school fees, and want a culture that normalises ambition, Millfield belongs on your shortlist. Schedule a visit, watch a squad from the balcony, and ask to see a typical weekly plan. The details are where Millfield does its best work, and they are the reason many families choose to build their tennis years here.