Our drama provision is enviable. We stage a production for every year group, right from Nursery every single year, and all children from Year 3 onwards are taught by a subject specialist drama teacher in their weekly drama lesson. We focus on developing performance skills which in turn builds confidence and self-esteem. Drama is such an inclusive subject and your child will be encouraged to take risks and express themselves. As they do so, they will grow and flourish, developing into a confident performer and capable communicator, skills which they will take far beyond the theatre. Teamwork and collaboration come to the fore as your child experiences and enjoys rehearsing and performing their annual production. And if performing on stage really isn’t their thing, then we encourage children to develop backstage skills, taking on roles such as lighting or sound technician or stage and costume designer to ensure that every child is engaged and excited by their annual production. If performing is a passion, your child will have the opportunity to take part in extra-curricular LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Drama Art) lessons. These weekly lessons help further develop children’s vocal clarity and performing skills and are extremely popular with more than 100 children at Highfield and Brookham taking LAMDA lessons each year.

Music is very much at the heart of our school and your child will have the opportunity to perform and enjoy music on many occasions, regardless of their musical taste or ability. We inspire everyone to find their musical passion with numerous choirs, ensembles, a rock club and concerts.

We recognise the importance of music in education. Your child will be taught by our subject specialist teachers in their weekly music lessons as they explore different music genres and themes. Away from the classroom, your child’s concentration skills will improve as they practice their favourite instrument and their IT skills will find no limits as they compose their very own scores in our well-equipped Music Tech room.

Central to musical success is performance and at Highfield and Brookham your child will have so many opportunities to perform. They can start gently, performing to their peers and parents in our weekly informal cushion concerts and progress to performing to a larger audience in the more formal setting of our Chapel or Theatre, courtesy of our termly concerts. HighFest, our annual outdoor festival, is a real highlight of the musical calendar.

In addition to their timetabled lessons, your child can also decide to learn a musical instrument. These extra-curricular lessons are taught by our specialist peripatetic teachers. We currently offer children the opportunity to learn 12 different instruments, including guitar, piano, clarinet, flute and drums. Your child can opt to formalise their musical education by taking ABRSM exams. Our exam success is compounded by the music scholarships our children have received over the past five years to top senior schools such as Wellington College, Cranleigh, Bedales and Bryanston.

Art is treasured at Highfield and Brookham and our fantastically well-equipped Art Studio is an encouraging and inspirational environment, led by our equally inspirational specialist teachers. Your child will experience a progressive and diverse curriculum which will see their creativity sparked by a variety of visual media including paint, clay, charcoal and printmaking. Weekly art lessons are delivered by our specialist subject teachers from Year 1. Our teaching in Art focuses on developing skills but also champions individuality and creativity and provides an environment where everyone can succeed. Your child can experiment and take risks without judgement or fear of failure as they learn that everyone can be a successful artist.

The DT Studio at Highfield and Brookham is a hive of creativity as the children explore, share ideas and work on designs. From Year 3, in their weekly lessons with a subject specialist teacher, your child will work on a range of different projects involving computer-aided design, needlework, woodwork and metal work. As their creativity and imagination flows, your child will learn how to turn their ideas into reality using a range of techniques and equipment including our own 3D printer and precision laser cutter. Children are encouraged to be innovative and original designers as they learn to take risks, experiment and stay away from the norm without fear of failure.

To help your child develop the ability to self-critique in a constructive manner they will be involved in a weekly Study Skills lesson. Your child will have the opportunity to carry out this new-found skill by reflecting and commenting on their end-of-term progress reports. We provide many real-life opportunities like this for your child to put their knowledge and skills into practice. This helps to consolidate their learning as well as give meaning and context to their education.

All year groups across all departments of the school immerse themselves in study skills, or learning strategies, that will help children throughout their life, not just academically. Deemed critical to effective studying and grades, many different revision strategies are trialled, reviewed and tweaked from lesson to lesson before being either adopted or jettisoned, eventually leaving pupils with several effective study practices which can be applied across the curriculum and beyond prep school life

Weaving study skills through our learning provision will:

• Raise achievement by developing independent, confident and effective learners
• Heighten pupils’ sense of personal responsibility toward academic studies
• Give pupils greater awareness and understanding of personal learning styles
• Raise self-esteem and heighten understanding of the benefits of developing self-reflection
• Help pupils effectively manage stress associated with revision and exams
• Help improve pupils’ motivation to succeed academically