History
Highfield School was founded in Southampton in 1892 by Mr EA Wells, the owner and first Headmaster. The school first opened as a boys’ prep with 18 pupils. In 1904, Mr William Mills became the owner and Headmaster and moved Highfield to its present 175-acre site in Liphook, on the Hampshire, West Sussex and Surrey border.
The new purpose-built school opened in September 1907 with 32 boys, all boarders. The school grew steadily; a beautiful Chapel was added in 1910, with other buildings quickly following suit. Mr Mills, who was ordained in 1912 and later became an Honorary Canon of Portsmouth Cathedral, remained Headmaster until 1953. Under Canon Mills, the school grew to accommodate 120 boys and established an enviable reputation for academic and sporting excellence. Highfield pupils won many scholarships to the leading English public schools, including Eton, Winchester, Shrewsbury, Charterhouse, Rugby and Sherborne.
Canon Mills died in 1953 and was succeeded by his son, Peter. The school became co-educational in 1978 and also began to take day children into the junior part of the school. Peter Mills retired in 1979 to be succeeded by Old Highfieldian Robin Orr, who remained Headmaster until 1993. During his tenure, school numbers rose from around 120 to almost 170. Under Nigel Ramage, Mr Orr’s successor, the school began a considerable programme of refurbishment and building work. Mr Ramage was succeeded in 1999 by Phillip Evitt when the compulsory boarding requirement ended, although many children still choose to board to this day, with almost all boarding for at least part of their final two years. Phillip Evitt retired in 2022 and was succeeded by Mrs Suzannah Cryer, current Head of Highfield.
Today, all departments have designated teaching rooms. New Science, Maths and Computing facilities were opened in September 2000. A new indoor swimming pool was opened at Easter 2005, and a new Music School in 2006. Today, Highfield is genuinely co-educational with equal numbers of girls and boys. In 1992, Brookham Pre-prep was built within the grounds of Highfield and this building is home to our Nursery to Year 3 children.
Highfield and Brookham is owned by Mr William Mills, the grandson of the founder. Mr Mills is also Chairman of the Board of Directors. Today, Highfield continues to enjoy an outstanding reputation as a top preparatory school for children aged 8-13 that offers an excellent all-round education, and its long tradition of scholarship success continues.
What we’re up to…
Yesterday, Year 7 visited the @the_globe and watched a one-of-a-kind performance of Romeo and Juliet, a classic Shakespearean text with a Wild West twist! Not only did they enjoy an incredible production, but they also explored this historic venue and even tried on some costumes. This inspiring trip ties into their current English text, King of Shadows by Susan Cooper. What a way to bring literature to life! #Shakespeare #GlobeTheatre #TogetherWeInspire #Nursery #PrePrep #Prep #CoEdIndependentSchool #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex
Year 1 were buzzing with creativity this morning in an interactive literacy session. Using picture prompts, they built imaginative sentences, structured stories and shared their joyful tales with the class. Today’s Essential Skill focus was Aiming High and they certainly did. #Literacy #AimingHigh #CreativeClassroom #EssentialSkills #TogetherWeLearn #CoEdSchool #Nursery #PrePrep #Prep #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex
A beautiful performance at our Cushion Concert this week by one of our talented Year 6 pupils. These weekly concerts are informal events where we invite parents into school to enjoy their children’s musical talents in a relaxed setting. Music is woven into the fabric of life at Highfield and Brookham, and we see it as a vital part of nurturing well-rounded, confident children and supporting academic learning. #TogetherWeInspire #Nursery #PrePrep #Prep #CoEdSchool #IndependentCountrySchool #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex
After a busy morning of swimming with their parents watching on, our Nursery children were more than ready for a hearty lunch. Bangers and mash with lots of vegetables were perfect for hungry children and went down a treat! Lots of happy faces and full tummies – all thanks to our fabulous kitchen team for another delicious and nutritious meal. #TogetherWeGrow #Nursery #PrePrep #Prep #CoEdIndependentSchool #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex.
We love hearing from our Old Highfieldians. Recently, we had the absolute pleasure of welcoming back Olivia, who was with us from 2006 to 2016 to hear about her journey since leaving Highfield and Brookham and the lasting friendships and memories she still treasures. It’s something we hear time and time again from generations of leavers – there’s just something magical about the school and being part of the Highfield and Brookham community. #HighfieldandBrookhamMagic #OldHighfieldians #HighfieldandBrookhamMemories #CoEdIndependentSchool #Nursery #PrePrep #Prep #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex
Yesterday featured back-to-back House tennis matches across all year groups, with plenty of friendly rivalry on the courts. As always, the spirit of competition was high and the matches closely contested. The winning House will be announced shortly. Good luck to all! #TogetherWeAchieve #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #Nursery #PrePrep #Prep #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex
The IPQ Exhibition on Saturday was fantastic. Our Year 8 pupils proudly presented their IPQ projects to parents, staff and visiting senior school representatives. It was a wonderful showcase of their hard work and great preparation for senior school. Well done Year 8! #TogetherWeAchieve #Nursery #PrePrep #Prep #IndepenedentSchool #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #CoEdSchool Bedales School Canford School Charterhouse School Churcher’s College Cranleigh School Downe House School Gordonstoun Seaford College Sherborne Boys
Deputy Head Kerri Wilkes, explains how our bespoke skills-based education programme is empowering young minds with the skills they need for today, and tomorrow. Click on the link in our bio above to read our Essential Skills blog. #TogetherWeLearn #TogetherWeInspire #Nursery #PrePrep #Prep #CoEdIndependentSchool #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex
We’ve had the pleasure of welcoming grannies, grandads, grandpas and nanas into school again this afternoon. The occasion was the second Grandparents’ Tea Party of the summer term, a special event which is much loved by both children and adults alike. After a leisurely tour of the school guided by their grandchildren, the grandparents are treated to a sumptuous tea laid on by our fabulous catering team before rounding off their stay with a wonderful concert in the Chapel. #TogetherWeGrow #GrandparentsTeaParty #AfternoonTea #IndependentSchoolsInHampshire #BoardingSchoolsInHampshire
Year 5 have been working on mitre joints in DT today as they continue their project of making picture frames and birdboxes. A mitre joint is a type of angle joint formed by cutting two pieces of material at an angle to create a corner, which allows the two pieces to join flush at the edge, concealing the end grain and creating a neat, finished look. During the process, the children used mitre boxes and saws, carpentry squares and sanding machines. #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeManufacture #TogetherWeBuild #DesignTechnology #CountryBoardingSchoolsInHampshire #WestSussex #Hampshire #Surrey
Big congratulations to our boys’ 1st XI who have just reached the third round of the @iapsuksport U13 cricket competition with a thrilling two-wicket win over our visitors from @beaconschooluk. A low-scoring game was in the balance until the death before a boundary through midwicket in the 19th over sealed Highfield and Brookham’s place in the last 16, where we will face @caldicottschool from Buckinghamshire. #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeCompete #PrepSchoolCricket #PrepSchoolSport #IndependentSchoolsInHampshire #Liphook #WestSussex #Surrey
Year 6 have today been polishing up their mapwork skills in geography. Working in small groups, the children had to use six-figure grid references to plot their way around the grounds in search of a dozen strategically-placed challenge stations, with each station featuring a series of tricky questions relating to direction, distance, height and relief of a set area. #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeProgress #GeographyFieldwork #Mapwork #Collaboration #CountryBoardingSchoolsInHampshire
This Saturday, our Year 8 pupils will proudly present their IPQ projects to parents, staff and visiting senior school representatives. Each chose a question close to their heart, reflecting their passions and interests. The academic journey through defining the question, research, creating, reflecting and presenting has stretched them in every way. They’ve developed skills including independence, resilience, critical thinking, problem-solving and so much more. All great preparation for their next steps to senior school, we couldn’t be prouder of all they’ve achieved. @bedalesschool @canfordschool @charterhousesch @churchers1722 @cranleighschool @downe_house @seafordcollege @sherborneboys #TogetherWeLearn #TogetherWeAchieve #Nursery #PrePrep #Prep #CoEdIndependentSchool #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex
Caps, sun cream and copious amounts of water were the order of the day as we welcomed our friends from Aldro and Wellington College Prep for a series of terrific cricket matches under sunny skies. Keeping your cool in the heat of battle is not always the easiest thing to do, especially on a warm day, but we had no such worries as all the matches were once again played in fantastic spirit, a pleasingly common feature of prep school sport. #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeCompete #TogetherWeSupport #PrepSchoolSport #BoardingSchoolsInHampshire #IndependentSchoolsInHampshire
You know the busy summer term is in full swing when the grounds team get to work painting the running lane lines ahead of Sports Day. June will see not one, not two but three sports days as the children from Nursery, Pre-prep and Prep each get their moment in the sporting spotlight, cheered on by friends and family. Sports Day is always such a wonderful occasion in the school calendar and one that fills us with immense pride as the children of all ages strive to give their best, win, lose or draw. #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeCompete #TogetherWeEncourage #SchoolSportsDay #CountryPrepSchoolsInHampshire
Musical marvels from Year 5 hit the right note today with a workshop dedicated to hit stage show Mary Poppins. Children from Highfield and Brookham were joined by pupils from @camelsdaleprimaryschool and Beacon Hill Community Primary School as part of a creative arts outreach programme; performing charming scenes from the enchanting tale of a magical nanny in London and super(califragilisticexpialidocious) songs. Bravo, children! #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWePerform #StageShow #SchoolPerformingArts #MaryPoppins #IndependentSchoolsInHampshire
The Pre-prep’s swim gala season is upon us, which gives our young swimmers the chance to show their proud parents how much they have learned in the pool under the expert eye of dedicated coaches Mrs Simpson, Mrs Castles and Mr Rodriguez during their weekly lessons. Today was the turn of Reception, who demonstrated how confident they are in the water as they learn a key life skill. #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeLearn #TogetherWeSwim #Swimming #LifeSkills #BoardingSchoolsInHampshire
A Highfield and Brookham pupil who was bitten by the gardening bug at a very young age has harvested not one but two awards at the BBC Gardeners World spring fair at Beaulieu, National Motor Museum. #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeSucceed #TogetherWeCultivate #Gardening #AwardWinner #CountrySchoolsInHampshire #IndependentSchoolsInHampshire
As we motor through the final term of another busy, productive and enriching school year, thoughts are already beginning to turn to the children moving up a year in September. To help prepare them for this exciting change, Year 3 today booked in for a lesson in the Prep school library and made full use of the comfy sofas and chairs, the colourful bean bags and, of course, the wonderful range of age-related reading material which is expertly managed by Dr Whitfield, our dedicated librarian. #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeLearn #TogetherWeProgress #WeLoveReading #LoveOfBooks #WeLoveOurLibraries #CountrySchoolsInHampshire #BoardingSchoolsInHampshire
Good company, good food, good weather and good music was the order of the day for our lovely Grandparents’ Tea Party yesterday, one of the most-cherished events of the school year. It was wonderful to see grandparents enjoy tea, sandwiches and cake with their grandchildren before being taken on a personal tour of the school and rounding off their visit with an uplifting concert in the Chapel. And we loved it so much that we are going to do it all over again next week! #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeThrive #GrandparentsTeaParty #AfternoonTea #BoardingSchoolsInHampshire
Huge congratulations to our U13s girls who won their match yesterday to take them through to the third round of the IAPS U13 Girls’ Cricket Championship. Well played girls! #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWePlay #TogetherWeCompete #GrassrootsSport #PrepSchoolSport #Teamwork #LeatherOnWillow #CountrySchoolsInHampshire @iapsuksport #cricket
The strength of our drama provision has again been underlined by our Year 5 and Year 6 children who put on a real tour de force this afternoon in the first of two LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art) showcase sessions, with the older prep school children set to take to the stage this evening. More than 130 children currently take extra-curricular LAMDA lessons, which are led by professional actors, and the standard seems to get higher every year, as evidenced by today’s amazing solo, duologue and group skits, poetry readings and excerpts. Bravo, children! #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWePerform #TogetherWeEncourage #PerformingArts #BoardingSchoolsInHampshire #ExtraCurricularExcellence
Don’t worry, we’re not encouraging our children to take up smoking… instead, young scientists in Year 4 were tasked with experimenting with varying straw lengths to determine the length of a vibrating air column and the pitch of the sound. They discovered that shorter straws produced higher-pitched sounds while longer straws produce lower-pitched sounds. Much to the amusement of his classmates, it seems this young man drew the short straw… #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeExperiment #SchoolScienceExperiments #TheJoyOfKnowledge #CountryBoardingSchoolsInHampshire
Good batting, quality bowling, energetic fielding and phenomenal teamwork and togetherness have been the order of the day as our boys and girls have enjoyed a fantastic afternoon of competitive cricket against our good friends from Farleigh School, all played in a wonderful spirit under blue skies. #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWePlay #TogetherWeCompete #GrassrootsSport #PrepSchoolSport #Teamwork #LeatherOnWillow #CountrySchoolsInHampshire