Bonfire Boost For Highreach Holidays

A charity which offers residential holidays for disabled children has received a handy cash boost after a Liphook school’s annual fireworks display went with a bang.

In keeping with the spectacular light show in honour of Bonfire Night at Highfield and Brookham School, Highfield Highreach Holidays had its coffers swelled to the tune of a dazzling £2,100.

The proceeds came from sales of food and drink on the night and cash donations.

The annual bonfire and fireworks extravaganza at the independent nursery, pre-prep and prep school on the rural borders of Hampshire, Surrey and West Sussex provides a regular boost to Highreach, which has been running since 2018 and provides respite for children with physical and mental disabilities.

While the firework display wowed the hundreds of visitors to the school, traditional guys produced by pupils from the prep school’s three houses – Agincourt, Trafalgar and Waterloo – took pride of place on top of the bonfire as part of the annual house competition, with Waterloo taking the honours this time around.

Highfield Highreach Holidays is hosted at Highfield and Brookham and is committed to supporting local families. It runs for one week every August and the charity covers half of the cost of the residential holiday, making it one of few affordable residential respite holidays in the area.

The cost of these holidays is met by ongoing fundraising initiatives within the school community while a healthy group of volunteers, many of whom return year on year, including former pupils of Highfield and Brookham School, help keep costs down.

Highreach, which was declared “outstanding” in all areas by Ofsted inspectors in 2022, returns next summer, from August 1-9.

Suzannah Cryer, Head of Highfield and Brookham School, said she was “delighted” by the amount of money raised by the fireworks for Highreach, adding that the school works hard to balance fundraising with the environmental and social impact of the annual pyrotechnics and bonfire.

“Bonfire Night is always a popular date in the school calendar, for both our children and the wider community who come to join us, and this year was no exception.

“We were treated to an amazing bonfire built by our grounds team and topped by traditional guys lovingly and painstakingly made by the children as part of their annual house competition, warming food and drink produced by our amazing catering team, and a spectacular firework display which lit up the night sky.

“The upshot was that we raised more than £2,000 for Highreach, our inspirational charity which provides a week-long summer holiday ever year for children with disabilities. The money will ensure that Highreach continues to give these inspiring children the opportunity to make memories that will last a lifetime.”