A veritable feast of harvest goodies will be heading to a community day centre in Liphook, thanks to our caring schoolchildren.

The children at Highfield and Brookham School answered the annual rallying call for fruit, vegetables, packets, jars and cans of all kinds as part of their harvest festival celebrations.

After being gathered up, sorted and bagged, the plentiful produce, boxes and tins will be delivered by Highfield and Brookham Head Suzannah Cryer and some willing young helpers to the Peak Centre, which provides companionship and a hot meal to elderly people three days per week.

Highfield and Brookham has strong links with the Liphook community and has been donating harvest produce to the Peak Centre for many years. This year’s haul includes soup, biscuits, cereal, pasta and hot chocolate, as well as pumpkins, squash, marrow and cabbages.

Mrs Cryer described the involvement in the harvest festival donation process as “a labour of love” for the children and hoped that the school’s association with the day centre, and the wider Liphook community, would continue for many years to come.

“The harvest festival traditionally celebrates the time of year when crops have been gathered from the fields and people can reflect and show gratitude for the food they have. It offers a sharp reminder of our duty as a school to encourage our children to look out for and consider how they might best help others less fortunate than themselves, something that they regularly do without hesitation,” she said.

Children from Highfield and Brookham also perform a Christmas concert at the Peak Centre each year, as well as donating to Liphook Food Bank. And at the end of August, the school hosted Liphook United’s major fundraiser, with more than 100 teams of boys and girls competing in the club’s annual six-a-side youth football tournament.

* The Peak Centre, on Midhurst Road, is open from 9.30am-3.15pm every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Anyone interested in attending the centre should call 01428 724941.