A highflying Good Samaritan who is an advocate of children reading during the holidays has returned one of our school library books.

The anonymous member of cabin crew discovered the well-travelled book – Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes – on a recent British Airways flight.

Eager for the book to be returned to its rightful owners, the kindly flyer popped it in the post with a brief note explaining that it had been cruising at 35,000 feet rather than taking its rightful place on the Upper Prep bookshelves in the library at Highfield and Brookham.

The note read: ‘Your student accidentally left this book on my flight. I hope they didn’t get into any trouble as reading, especially while on holiday, should be encouraged.’

While school librarian Dr Whitfield was delighted to have the book returned after its adventure in the skies, Highfield and Brookham Head Suzannah Cryer was taken with the sentiment about the importance of reading.

“Our children really do love to read and I have absolutely no doubt that our library books travel far and wide during the school holidays,” she said, “but for this wonderful person to take the trouble to return the book to us is absolutely wonderful.

“And what really struck me was the last line of the note which championed reading during the holidays, something which we, as teachers, know is vitally important for children’s educational development. Clearly, British Airways cabin crew know that too.”

Mrs Cryer added: “Unfortunately, the note was simply signed ‘BA cabin crew’ so we don’t know who sent it, which is a great shame as it would be lovely to thank them personally for not only returning the book but also for flying the flag for summertime reading.”

Highfield and Brookham School has announced its pupil leadership team for this academic year.

Iona Dumas and Wilf Walters have been named Head Girl and Head Boy respectively, with Emily Pearce and Zac Hawkes acting as their deputies.

The school takes the appointment of its pupil leadership team very seriously and the new incumbents had to come through a thorough selection process.

All pupils are actively encouraged to apply for the prestigious roles toward the end of their time in Year 7 and those that decide to apply must submit a formal letter of application to Highfield and Brookham Head Suzannah Cryer explaining why they should be considered for the position.

Aided by her senior management team, Mrs Cryer reviews each application and draws up a shortlist before interviewing the pupils. The entire staff body at Highfield and Brookham are also invited to share their thoughts on the candidates before a final decision is made, where one boy and one girl from the oldest year group in the school are selected for the coveted leadership roles, as well as their deputies.

Mrs Cryer said: “The appointment of our pupil leadership team involves a stringent process which reflects the importance of the roles on offer. Despite that, we are always inundated with applications each year, which demonstrates the regard in which the positions are held by the children themselves.

“Naturally, that gives us some difficult decisions to make each year, but it’s a really nice problem to have. The quality of the applications is always really high and all of the children who apply, whether successful or not, can be really proud of their effort and commitment.”

As well as appointing the Head Girl and Head Boy and their deputies, the school also named its Heads of Boarding, Heads of House, and prefect teams.

The purpose of the pupil leadership team is to be role models for the school, to ensure that pupils’ voices are heard and to represent the school at events such as prizegiving and open mornings.

The full pupil leadership team is:

Heads of School: Iona Dumas, Wilf Walters

Deputy Heads of School: Emily Pearce, Zac Hawkes

Heads of Boarding: Mylie Kyere, Max Grant

Deputy Heads of Boarding: Cecilia Jiang, Jack Hofmeyr

Heads of House: Jamie Borwick, Clemmie Coller (Agincourt), Harry Remers, Emily Law (Trafalgar), Alec Williams, Izzy Grist (Waterloo)

Deputy Heads of House: Xander Salusbury, Tiggy Walder (Agincourt), Caelan MacDonald, Eliza Welby-Everard (Trafalgar), Ollie Glasgow, Tallulah Hawtin (Waterloo)

Arts Prefects: Rupert Byam-Cook, Mia Bicknell, Oscar Jackson, Elinor Laws, Nick Ai

Pre-Prep Prefects (EYFC): Milly Valentine, Digby Leach, Amelie Tyrrell-Evans

Pre-Prep Prefects (KS1): Paloma Kelton, Libby Miller, Freddie Harris

Peer listeners: Alec Williams, Wilf Walters, Tallulah Hawtin, Xander Salusbury, Clemmie Coller, Sophie Barraclough, Eliza Welby-Everard, Emily Law, Jack Hofmeyr

A year on from the opening of its dedicated wellbeing hub, Highfield and Brookham School’s pastoral provision is still very much in rude health.

The Beehive was unveiled last autumn as a place to promote good mental health among the nursery, pre-prep and prep school’s pupils and staff.

Staffed throughout the day by teachers expertly trained in mental health first aid, the wellbeing centre is a place where children can relax, take time out and take stock of their emotions whenever they need to.

And it is the perfect foil for the independent school’s continued pastoral drive, in and out of the classroom.

On Thursday, which was officially National Mental Health Day, prep school pupils convened in the Chapel for an uplifting ‘Power of Singing’ initiative to get their days off to a positive start; the children belting out Taylor Swift’s smash hit Shake It Off and Eye of the Tiger by Survivor, made famous by the Rocky film franchise.

In the classroom, the Nursery children have this week been exploring their feelings while reading Anna Llenas’ book The Colour Monster, which explores different emotions and links them to colours.

And pre-prep children were yesterday joined by their Year 8 peers for some thoughtful circle time, with the children taking turns to hold Year 2 mascot ‘Fluffy’ before describing their ‘happy place’ to the group.

Suzannah Cryer, Head of Highfield and Brookham, said: “The health and wellbeing of our children is paramount and we take our responsibilities very seriously indeed. In a fast-moving world, taking time out to look after mental health is very important, a sentiment which applies to both adults and children.

“The Beehive is a wonderful addition to our pastoral care offering and the benefits to the children of having somewhere calm to stop, think and breathe is there for all to see and is really reflected in the classroom and beyond.”

The school’s continued desire to offer the most robust pastoral provision possible has led to it being named a finalist in several national award schemes and tonight the school will find out if it has been successful in this year’s National Association for Pastoral Care in Education awards.

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.

Pupils at an independent school in Liphook have this week shown much love for their European neighbours.

The children at Highfield and Brookham School showed great enthusiasm, creativity and a willingness to learn as they marked European Day of Languages on Thursday, an educational initiative set up in 2001 to encourage language learning across the continent.

Working together, the Pre-Prep and Prep school children proved a real tour de force as they were split into groups and allocated a European country before being tasked to find creative ways of promoting their adopted nation; via colourful posters adorned with relevant words, pictures and interesting cultural facts, beautifully decorated flags, or carefully-crafted headgear sporting the national colours of the likes of Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Germany and Ukraine.

Suzannah Cryer, Head of Highfield and Brookham, said: “It was such an inspirational morning and the children came up with some amazing creations and wonderful facts before standing up in front of the whole school and reciting words and phrases in their newly-discovered foreign languages.

“It was also wonderful to see children of all ages working so well together. From experience, we know that the older children and the younger pupils get so much out of our whole-school initiatives; the younger children gain confidence as they learn from their older mentors while the older children learn patience and leadership skills.”

Highfield and Brookham, which has for many years welcomed children from across the continent, currently has 21 European students in the school, including children from Romania, France, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Ukraine, Sweden and Austria.

Mrs Cryer added: “Studying at Highfield and Brookham gives our overseas children the chance to share first hand insights into their language and culture, which is a great learning experience for our British children and offers a proud moment for our European pupils.”

A youth football tournament in Liphook has been declared a big success by organisers – thanks to a little help from Highfield and Brookham School.

The annual six-a-side competition run by Liphook United Football Club was held over two days at the end of August and attracted more than 100 teams of boys and girls from across the region.

But organisers were initially left facing a logistical headache on the run up to the festival of football when they discovered their usual tournament venue was unavailable, before Highfield and Brookham answered a plea for an alternative setting.

The independent day and boarding school on the borders of Hampshire, Surrey and West Sussex, which has strong links with the community in and around Liphook, didn’t charge the football club for use of its 175-acre site, instead asking for a small percentage of the tournament takings to be donated to its Highreach Holidays charity which provides week-long summer breaks for children with disabilities.

As a result, the football club swelled the Highreach coffers to the tune of £516.

Jenni Weston, vice-chairman of Liphook United Football Club, for whom the annual youth tournament represents a real lifeline in terms of fundraising and the financial security of the club, said: “We wanted to say a huge thank you to Highfield and Brookham School for allowing us to host the tournament on their stunning facilities. They really have the local community at heart and we were pleased to be able to raise £516.62 which has been donated to Highfield Highreach Holidays.”

Suzannah Cryer, Head of Highfield and Brookham School, said: “We are proud to be a part of the thriving community of Liphook and we have a healthy relationship with the football club, so we were delighted to be able to help out when it came to providing a venue for the club’s annual youth football tournament.

“As a school, we naturally have a strong affinity with children and children’s activities, so to know that the club’s wonderful youth tournament will keep the football club flourishing and give those children more sporting opportunities for years to come is very satisfying.”

Pupils at Highfield and Brookham could be forgiven for making a real song and dance about their dramatic prowess.

Instead, the children let their stage talent do the talking by securing a superb set of results in their London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art (LAMDA) exams.

Some 108 pupils took exams in the spring, with 94 securing distinctions and 14 claiming merits to complete another successful year of LAMDA under the auspices of Sarah Baird, Head of Drama at Highfield and Brookham, who is also a former professional actor.

Acting or speaking verse or prose, children must score at least 50 marks out of 100 to earn a pass at their grade level, 65 to obtain a merit and 80 to achieve a distinction; with 40 marks available for interpretation, 40 marks for technique and 20 marks for knowledge.

Isabella Hawkes was Highfield and Brookham’s top performer, securing an impressive score of 95 in her grade one acting exam, while Lottie Gelder and Oliver Fanshawe scored 94 for grade one acting and grade two verse and prose work respectively.

Highfield and Brookham has a strong record of dramatic success under Mrs Baird’s leadership, with another 120 pupils taking LAMDA again this year and working with three specialist teachers – Sarah Dungworth, Hannah Baxter-Eve and Susannah Wilson – two of whom are working actors and the other is a former West End performer.

Pupils in years five, six, seven and eight can take solo, duo or group lessons, with taster sessions available in the summer term for children in Year 4.

The thriving day and boarding school on the rural borders of Hampshire, Surrey and West Sussex also picked up three more senior school drama scholarships in the summer – two to Charterhouse and one to Cranleigh – while every year group in the nursery, pre-prep and prep school put on at least one performance during the year, culminating in the Year 8 leavers’ spectacular staging of School of Rock.

Suzannah Cryer, former Head of Drama and now Head at Highfield and Brookham, said: “We have always taken great pride in our drama provision and the incredible results that the children have secured in their LAMDA results this year are testament to that.

“Under the guidance of an amazing group of talented, professional and dedicated teachers, our children just seem to raise the bar higher and higher each year.”

Some “exciting” changes have been made to our boarding provision.

For the first time in a decade, Highfield and Brookham Schools has significantly revised its approach to boarding to meet ever-increasing demand and ensure the school remains current and at the forefront of boarding practice in a modern world.

With around 130 children on the boarding roll, the school has a thriving boarding community, and the changes reflect that.

One such change sees boarding provision extended to children in Year 3, brought about by demand from parents. Previously, children could only board from Year 4, but now the youngest children will join Year 4 and Year 5 children in the school’s Junior Boarding House.

In another change, Steps To Boarding – their own take on flexible boarding – has now been extended to the end of Year 7 and offers a gentle start to the boarding process and gives children the chance to test the water before becoming a full-time boarder at either prep school or senior school.

Around a quarter of the boarders board full time and 25% take advantage of the Steps To Boarding programme, while half of the boarders choose the new weekly option, which covers Monday to Saturday which launched this September.

Full-time boarding is particularly popular with Armed Forces families, London-based children, international pupils and locally-based children who want a taste of full boarding before moving to senior school.

Complementing the logistical changes, the junior and senior boarding houses have been part of a school-wide summer refurbishment programme, with senior dorms, bathrooms and landing benefiting from new flooring, lighting and electrical systems while an overhaul of the plumbing system has ensured that the school continues to operate as sustainably and efficiently as possible.

Work on the senior common rooms next summer will complete a seven-year refurbishment programme.

And underpinning all the changes is the appointment of Mikayla van den Berg, who joins Highfield and Brookham as Director of Boarding and a Designated Safeguarding Lead having previously been Head of Boarding at Oratory Prep School in Reading.

Suzannah Cryer, Head of Highfield and Brookham, said: “Boarding is very much a personal choice. It’s important that parents know that their children are safe, happy and well cared for while they are away from home. The fact that we have such healthy numbers of happy and contented boarders is testament to the strength of the offering that we provide and these exciting changes can only enhance that reputation further.”

Highfield and Brookham Schools has secured a grant to support one of its many environmental projects.

A huge advocate of a greener and more sustainable way of life, the school aims to be fully carbon neutral by 2030.

And it’s been helped in its ongoing quest thanks to a £4,250 grant from the South Downs National Park Trust as part of its Bee Lines scheme, which aims to protect, nurture and support our busy pollinators.

The thriving nursery, pre-prep and prep school, which sits in 175-acre grounds on the rural borders of Hampshire, West Sussex and Surrey, will use the cash to extend its wildflower-planting project. The grant will cover the hire of a specialist rotavator for two weeks and 15 kilos of wildflower seed mix which can cover more than 6,500 square metres of land.

Jasper Marks, the grounds manager at Highfield and Brookham who made the grant application on behalf of the school, has already earmarked two areas of the school’s nine-hole golf course, the area around the artificial hockey pitch and the Lime Avenue pathway as the latest sites to planted with wildflowers.

The grant comes just four months after Highfield and Brookham pupils sowed wildflower seeds across the site to mark Earth Day, with the primary aim of giving a helping hand to our prized but threatened pollinators – bees and butterflies.

The South Downs National Park Trust set up its Bee Lines scheme to establish or restore pollinator habitats, with grant applications open to any businesses within Britain’s newest national park. Sites in Selborne, Alice Holt and Buriton are among a number which have already benefitted from the Trust cash.

The school has made a strong commitment to the environment, with regular green activities undertaken by pupils, such as building hibernaculums for wildlife and growing their own vegetables, dovetailing with the school’s ongoing eco programme, which is underpinned by its impressive biomass boilers which provide 85% of its heating and energy needs. Most recently, Highfield and Brookham was awarded a silver certificate by Green Tourism after a successful pilot scheme run in conjunction with the South Downs National Park Authority and was named as a finalist in the environmental practice category of the Education Business Awards.

Highfield Head Suzannah Cryer said: “We are immensely proud of our ongoing environmental work but we know that there is so much more work to do. This wonderful grant from the South Downs National Park Trust is another step in the right direction and soon legions of butterflies and bees will be able to take advantage of a special little wildlife haven set aside just for them.”

A residential holiday scheme for disabled children celebrated its sixth year.

First hosted in 2018 Highfield Highreach Holidays, a week-long respite break, has gone from strength to strength with 23 children attending this year’s holiday.

Highreach is hosted at Highfield and Brookham Schools in Liphook and is focused on supporting families from the local area. This August families joined from across Surrey, West Sussex and Hampshire as it is one of the very few affordable residential respite holidays in the surrounding areas.

Year-on-year half of the cost of the residential holiday is covered by fundraising from the Highfield and Brookham school community to accommodate families who cannot afford the high price of many commercial respite care schemes.

Asking for volunteers is another crucial way of keeping running costs down. This year there were 58 volunteers who made the respite holiday possible.  

The volunteers, 41 of who were returning volunteers, found the experience rewarding and a genuinely lifechanging opportunity. This year 30 of the volunteers were former pupils of Highfield and Brookham. They have had the privilege of an independent education and it is their way of giving back. In addition, there were eight members of staff from Highfield and Brookham including owner and chairman Bill Mills.

Of the 58 volunteers, 13 have volunteered for all six holidays.

During last year’s holiday the children and volunteers were joined by Ofsted inspectors. Highreach received the top accolade of ‘outstanding’ in every category.

According to Ofsted “the actions of the residential holiday scheme contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people”.

Highreach only runs for one week once a year, but this short amount of time has a huge impact on the children attending. Children have access to a multitude of amenities, everything from an indoor swimming pool and performance theatre to outdoor woodlands and a full-sized competition Astro. Each of these resources are used with an inclusive outlook. So, for those holidaymakers who have sensory needs there is plentiful staff who can supervise them during quieter times so they can still gain the most out of the week.

Proud Highfield and Brookham Head Suzannah Cryer said: “Challenging perceptions is the ongoing vision that underpins Highreach, from the abilities of the children on the respite scheme to the young volunteers that make it all possible.

“Too often in society people are defined and restricted by their abilities and disabilities; preconceptions about what they should and shouldn’t do. This week proves that nothing can hold these amazing young people back.” Find out more about volunteering, fundraising or attending at https://highfieldandbrookham.co.uk/school-plus/highreach-holidays/

Our young athletes have secured a record medal haul at a prestigious national meeting.

The seven talented competitors picked up five medals between them in the National Prep Schools Athletics Championships at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham.

The one gold, one silver and three bronze medals is the biggest return that our children have had at the championships, which are the pinnacle of prep school athletics each year.

And it comes hard on the heels of news that five Year 8 leavers secured sports scholarships to some of the country’s leading senior schools.

In Birmingham, Emily Sherlock struck gold in the U14 girls’ triple jump with a winning leap of 10.30 metres but had to settle for silver in the U14 girls’ 100m in a time of 12.45 seconds having been fastest qualifier in the heats.

Valentina Rollason secured a bronze medal in the U13 girls’ high jump by clearing 1.35m, missing out on gold by just 11 centimetres, and Tiggy Walder claimed bronze in the U12 girls’ 1500m in a time of 5.26.04.

And Millie Valentine completed Highfield and Brookham’s impressive haul by winning a bronze medal in the U12 girls’ shot putt event with a throw of 6.94m, which was good enough for third place and only an agonising eight centimetres behind the gold medal winner.

Completing Highfield and Brookham’s septet at the iconic Alexander Stadium, Clemmie Coller, Cristo Porter and Imogen were just outside the medal places – Clemmie finishing fifth in the U12 girls’ 800m in a time of 2.44.78, Imogen Knight placing sixth in her U13 girls’ 1500m heat and Cristo placing eighth in the U13 boys’ 1500m in 5.08.97.

Highfield and Brookham Head Suzannah Cryer said: “We have such a wonderful array of talent in all areas of school life, such as academia, art, dance, drama and music, and I’m delighted to say that sport is well and truly in that list too.

“Throughout the year we reflect on the amazing sporting achievements of our children at both internal and external events and the success of our boys and girls in Birmingham is a great example. It really is testament to both the ability and desire of our children and the excellent coaching and support that they receive from our dedicated teaching staff.”

A successful scheme built on kindness, care and compassion is entering its tenth year at an independent school in Liphook.

The Peer Listeners project has for a decade offered children at Highfield and Brookham Schools a friendly sympathetic shoulder or a kindly listening ear.

The listeners themselves are a dedicated and trained group of pupils from Year 8 at Highfield, the oldest children at the thriving prep school on the border of Hampshire, Surrey and West Sussex.

The children apply for the scheme at the end of Year 7 and are selected via an interview process involving Zoe Thesiger-Pratt, Head of PSHE and Wellbeing, and English teacher Lucy Hendry, with around ten pupils typically chosen.

Mrs Thesiger-Pratt, who has been involved with the scheme for the past seven years, said: “It gives the peer listeners an element of responsibility and they all love helping the younger children. We talk to them about developing their listening skills and how to be an active listener – just be a listening ear when others need it. These are great skills to develop.”

The peer listeners typically deal with matters such as friendships, siblings or exams.

“For the younger children, it means they have the comfort of someone to talk to who is more like a big brother or big sister. It means they can ask for advice without going to a teacher, as sometimes this can seem a bit overwhelming,” added Mrs Thesiger-Pratt.

Highfield and Brookham Head Suzannah Cryer said she was delighted that the pastoral scheme had reached a significant landmark.

“When I think of how many children who have moved through the school in the past decade with the extra safety net of the peer listeners, I’m filled with an enormous sense of pride.

“We take our pastoral responsibilities incredibly seriously and the fact that we have no shortage of Year 7 children coming forward each year to take on these important roles speaks volumes of the kindness and character of the young people that we have within our school community.”

Highfield and Brookham has recently been shortlisted for two national awards for their pastoral provision – Independent School of the Year Awards and National Awards for Pastoral Care in Education.

Today’s date will be an incredibly significant one for thousands of mums and dads up and down the country. Tuesday 19^th April will have been ringed in thick red marker pen on many a household calendar for many months as a crucial reminder of the date of their child’s most significant educational milestone to date – the allocation of their primary school place. While the majority of families will get their preferred primary school place for a September 2022 start, sadly some won’t. So, faced with that undoubtedly disappointing scenario, what should you do? According to Brookham’s Headteacher, Sophie Baber, the first and most important thing is don’t panic.

“Don’t let your child see that you are upset,” she said. “In fact, I would strongly advise you not to open the email in front of your child. The last thing you want is to transfer any stress or anxiety on to your child.”

If an application has been unsuccessful, according to Mrs Baber there are four options: parents can choose to accept the alternative offer of a school that has enough space, put their child on the waiting list of their preferred schools, make an appeal or, if they are able and willing to, consider paying for private education.

 “Once you have processed the offer and collected your thoughts, it’s time to accept the school place you have been offered,” she said. “While this may seem counter intuitive, it’s important that your child has a school to go to in September. If you don’t, the chances are that you could lose your place and be offered an even less desirable option. This will not affect your right to appeal. I would then advise phoning your preferred choice of school. This may prove challenging at this time. If you think it’s brilliant, the chances are so will lots of other parents. As a result, the phones are likely to be busy and the waiting list may be long. Once again don’t panic, if you cannot get through, leave a message and follow up with an email asking to add your child to the list.”

And Mrs Baber added: “Remember, there is always movement, places come up all the time and it’s not uncommon to be offered a place on the first day of the new school year. If you don’t get a reply to your email within a couple of days, check that your message has been received.”

Once your child’s name is securely on the waiting list, it’s time to consider appealing. Mrs Baber advises: “You have the right to appeal but, if you are to be successful, you need to have a solid case. Your reason could relate to a mistake in the admissions arrangements or the suitability of a school to meet your child’s needs. It is important to note that each local authority will have a slightly different process, so it is imperative to check out your local authority’s website. Don’t forget to have all your supporting evidence in a digital format, so that it can be uploaded and submitted all at the same time. You may want to consider employing a solicitor or a member of a schools’ appeals organisation to help.”

But she warned that going to appeal is “extremely stressful” and the chances of success were “limited”, leaving one further option that parents may wish to consider. “There are some truly outstanding independent schools around,” she said.

“With nurturing smaller class sizes and an enviable breadth of curriculum, delivered by specialist teachers, this is a brilliant back-up plan. If you are in the fortunate position of being able to afford this option, you will find that many independent schools will be open for admissions all year round. If financially this seems an impossibility, it is worth picking up the phone and asking about any bursaries on offer.”

Highfield and Brookham Schools are open for admissions, so if you are interested in finding out about places in Reception and Year 3, contact Charlotte Cottrell on admissions@highfieldandbrookham.co.uk or call 01428 722005.

A brave Highfield and Brookham pupil has taken a huge leap of faith – abseiling from the roof of a 13-storey building in London in honour of her cousin.

Daisy W took the plunge from the top of the Pelican Hotel at St George’s Hospital in Tooting in memory of Izzy Wilson, who died of leukaemia two years ago.

The fearless Year 6 pupil joined a group of Izzy’s friends and family for the daring descent and raised a whopping £8,138 for the Izzy Wilson Smile Fund.

The fund was set up in 2020 to “make children’s lives better during their time at St George’s” in line with Izzy’s wishes and now stands at more than £100,000.

Daisy, 11, said: “I was really excited about doing the abseil at first but as soon as I stepped back off the building I thought ‘do I really want to do this?’ But when I reached the bottom I was so happy and wanted to do it again!”

Embarking on her first big fundraiser, alongside Izzy’s schoolfriends and family, Daisy said the initial target had been £1,500.

“The amount of money raised was absolutely amazing,” she said.

“Izzy and me were really close, she was like a sister to me, and hopefully all of this money will help make children’s lives in the hospital a little bit better.”

Izzy, who attended Broomwood Hall School in Northwood, was cared for at St George’s Hospital for nine weeks and was eager to give something back.

Highfield School Headmaster Phillip Evitt said: “It never ceases to amaze me the extraordinary lengths that our children will go to to help others. Their selfless ways mean they always seem to find new things to do for the betterment of others.

“At the tender age of just 11, what Daisy has done is nothing short of remarkable. An abseil at any age is a pretty scary prospect but Daisy has been incredibly brave and helped raise lots of money for her cousin’s wonderful cause. I know I speak for the whole school when I say we are immensely proud of her.”