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The Highfield School Centenary Bursaries Fund was set up to celebrate Highfield’s centenary in 2007. It has been running successfully for more than 12 years thanks to the generosity of current and former parents, alumni and institutional grants. The aim of the fund is to raise enough money to support children who would not otherwise have the opportunity to come to a school like Highfield and Brookham.
In the current climate, access to private education is becoming more and more of a privilege. We recognise our responsibility to ensure we bridge this advantage gap. We know there are many children who would greatly benefit from attending a private school and there is a need to bring this opportunity to as many as possible – to those who might not otherwise consider it an option due to difficult financial or family circumstances.
Our Aim
The purpose of the Centenary Bursaries Fund is to make a real difference in a child’s life, not just academically but also physically, emotionally and socially. The bursaries are awarded to children we believe will gain the most benefit from attending Highfield and Brookham Schools – ensuring they reach their full potential, build life-long skills and develop long-lasting, positive experiences and relationships.
It’s incredibly rare for prep schools to offer 100% bursaries, especially at the rate that we do. We want to lead the way, in good faith, so that other prep schools will follow and allow this amazing opportunity to be given to even more children.
Changing Lives
We have awarded 17 bursaries to date and they have proved to be an enormous success. The Centenary Bursaries Fund also provides additional support for music lessons, sports equipment, school trips and uniform. In some circumstances, it has also funded travel to and from the school for the children and their parents.
Past bursary children have gone on to secure bursaries and scholarships at exceptional senior schools such as Charterhouse, Marlborough College and Seaford College. Nine children are currently still with us and because of our excellent relationships with senior schools and the outstanding support we offer, the hope is our current children will follow in their footsteps.
Selection Process
We have a very thorough selection process to identify children whose circumstances merit this life-changing gift. Throughout the year we build awareness of this opportunity outside of our socio-demographic to ensure relevant candidates are put forward. This involves forging links with relevant schools and their headteachers, charitable organisations, and promoting the opportunity online.
A typical candidate could be a child who is experiencing social or educational difficulties such as bullying, a challenging home life, special educational needs or someone who just needs a break, or children who have the ability to succeed academically if given the right support. We also have gifted children being put forward, where Highfield and Brookham can offer them a higher level of individual attention and can access our well-developed programme for the most talented children.
Make A Donation
The bursaries are funded on a 50-50 basis by the fund and the school. The school’s share is covered by ancillary income streams such as property rentals, Summer School and Swim School. Parents do not subsidise the bursaries through their fees.
We have an extremely robust fundraising plan which involves a combination of donations, fundraising events, investments and grants. Our donors are a mix of former pupils, grandparents, former parents, current parents, institutes and former staff. The Centenary Bursaries Fund is a registered charity, so Gift Aid increases donations to the fund from UK income tax payers by 25%. Donors just need to complete the Gift Aid form when making their donation.
We have partnered with Amazon Smile and Easy Fundraising to make it even easier to support the Highfield School Centenary Bursaries Fund. Both of these schemes turn your everyday online shopping into a free donation at no extra cost to you. If our aims resonate with you, just follow the simple steps to support this great cause every time you shop online.
Charity Information
The Highfield School Centenary Bursaries Fund is a trust that was set up as a separate legal entity in 2007 with its own trust deed and trustees. It was granted charitable Status by the Charity Commissioners in 2007. (Registered Charity No. 1114845)
The Trustees
- Jonathan Carey – former Highfield parent and grandson of Canon Mills, Highfield’s founder
- Peter Greenwood – Old Highfieldian and former Highfield parent
- Nick Denton – a parent of three Old Highfieldians
- Simon Mason – former Highfield member of staff
- Katie Naylor – former Highfield parent
What we’re up to…
For their final get-together before the Easter holidays, and hot on the heels of the amazing efforts of the Year 5 and Year 6 pupils in their production of Pride Rocks, the children in the prep-prep Theatre Club today put on a wonderful performance of their own featuring singing, dancing and choreography to the uplifting soundtrack of The Circle of Life. Bravo, children! #TogetherWeGrow #TheCircleOfLife #PrePrepTheatreClub #PerformingArts #IndependentSchoolsInHampshire #CountryEducation
Hats off to our lovely Nursery children who got the final week of the spring term off to the best possible start today with a wonderful Easter bonnet parade in our fabulous woodland. #TogetherWeGrow #EasterBonnetParade #SchoolsInHampshire #BoardingSchoolsInHampshire #Nursery #PrePrepSchool #PrepSchool #IndependentSchool
What an amazing week we’ve had on the theatrical stage. Our Year 5 and Year 6 children have excelled themselves with no less than six extraordinary performances of Pride Rocks. Under the direction of Mrs Baird, our exceptional Head of Drama, the children recited their lines, danced and sang with immense pride, passion and expertise, supporting each other every step of the way as the powerful tale unfolded. Grateful thanks to Aldro for providing the zebra and giraffe heads and Cranleigh School for supplying the stunning masks. #TogetherWeGrow #PrideRocks #SchoolsInHampshire #PerformingArts
Having performed in front of their upper prep school peers today, our Year 5 and Year 6 children are now halfway through the six scheduled performances of their spectacular, atmospheric and dramatic stage show, Pride Rocks. And the general consensus so far? It’s been a roaring success! #TogetherWeGrow #StageShow #MusicalTheatre #PrideRocks #PrepSchoolTheatre #PerformingArts #CoeducationalSchoolsInHampshire
Bubbles, bears, biscuits and books were the order of the day for our Nursery children today. The excited children took full advantage of the warmer weather and blue skies to head outside and have fun with their friends at a wonderful teddy bears’ picnic; chasing bubbles, eating tasty bear-shaped snacks and listening to Mrs Horn read captivating stories out in the fresh air. #TogetherWeGrow #TeddyBearsPicnic #OutdoorLearning #Books #TheGreatOutdoors #SchoolsInHampshire
The girls’ football season continued apace today with the visit of our friends from St. Edmund’s School, Surrey. Our U13, U12, U11 and U10 girls were in fine form under mercifully sunny skies, demonstrating just how much they have improved in the past month. The girls will wrap up their season against Aldro on Saturday before turning their attention to cricket after the Easter holiday. #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeCompete #TogetherWePlay #PrepSchoolSport #GirlsFootball #GrassrootsFootball #SchoolsInHampshire
From crime scene investigation to the benefits of healthy eating and from fascinating trips to the Science Museum and Natural History Museum, London to a feast of forensics, our inquisitive children immersed themselves fully in British Science Week. #TogetherWeGrow #Science #CrimeSceneInvestigation #STEM #WeLoveScience #SchoolsInHampshire #BoardingSchoolsInHampshire
Year 7 have taken inspiration from the work of JMW Turner, who was best known for his expressive colouring and imaginative landscapes. Working on a theme of abstract seas and skies, the young artists covered repurposed canvases with scraps of paper to create texture before clever use of primary colours, complemented by whites for tone and black for shade, added real emotion to the children’s artwork. #TogetherWeGrow #CreativeArts #InspiredByFamousArtists #ExpressiveArtwork #SchoolsInHampshire
Experimental artists in Year 3 have been busy mixing primary colours in the art room today to produce secondary colours. The children discovered that mixing red, blue and yellow in pairs produced vibrant hues of orange, purple and green which they could use to add a real splash of colour to their clay faces. #TogetherWeGrow #Art #Creativity #Painting #SchoolsInHampshire
Year 4 pupils today learnt some amazing facts about giant tortoises. As part of a weekly initiative where the children are encouraged to bring something unusual or interesting into class to spark healthy discussion and broaden their knowledge, George T brought in his sulcata tortoise. The children discovered that ten-year-old Boris, who is still only a baby, hails from north Africa, is a herbivore and could weigh up to 90lbs (40 kilos) when fully grown. #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeLearn #SulcataTortoise #AnimalMagic #HealthyDiscussion #FascinatingFacts #SchoolsInHampshire
Whether it’s in the classroom, on the sports pitch, in the art room, on stage in the theatre or working on experiments in the science lab, the flame of passion burns brightly within our children. They possess an innate desire to learn, spread their wings and be the best they can be, something we wholeheartedly encourage and nurture. #TogetherWeGrow #PassionForLearning #ThirstForKnowledge #EndlessPossibilities #SchoolsInHampshire
Looking for a unique and nurturing educational environment where your child can truly thrive? The countdown to our next Open Morning on Friday 14th March is on and we can’t wait to meet all the prospective parents. Why not come along and see for yourself? Simply click the link in our bio to reserve your spot. We look forward to welcoming you. #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #OpenMorning
With spring just around the corner, we were today appropriately treated to another uplifting music concert. Pupils from Year 3 to Year 7 performed eclectic pieces for guitar, piano, recorder, violin, saxophone and cello while the Year 4 band rocked their way through 20th Century Boy. And Romilly and Felix performed a sublime rendition of the humorous song The Cover Is Not The Book from hit film Mary Poppins Returns. #TogetherWeGrow #MusicalTalent #CreativeArts #SchoolConcert #SchoolsInHampshire #PrivateSchoolsInHampshire
It’s been another cold day on the hockey pitch, despite sporadic bursts of watery, early-spring sunshine. But what has proved incredibly heartwarming yet again is the dedication, camaraderie and skill shown by all of the boys, not to mention the immense pride that comes with wearing the green and black. Thank you to all of the players and coaches from Amesbury School, Edgeborough School, St. Edmund’s School, Surrey and Westbourne House School for playing a full part in a quite brilliant U9 tournament. #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeCompete #PrepSchoolSport #BoysHockey #BoardingSchoolsInHampshire
Quality play and insightful coaching were the order of the day as our boys rose to the occasion on the hockey pitch this afternoon against our friends from @westbournehouseschool while the girls battled it out on the football pitch. Prep school sport was the real winner though. Well played, everyone! #TogetherWeGrow #PrepSchoolSport #Hockey #GirlsFootball #PrivateSchoolsInHampshire
When it comes to being healthy, look no further than Year 3. As part of their spring term topic looking at the benefits of healthy eating and the importance of wellbeing, the children took on the Great Smoothie Challenge – and passed with flying colours. Split into teams, Year 3 not only had to produce tasty fruit smoothies, they had to explain to the judging panel where their fruit came from and champion its nutritional value. The children were also judged on their brand name and logo and how well they worked together. #TogetherWeGrow #GreatSmoothieChallenge #HealthyEating #SchoolsInHampshire
Mrs Houghton, our Head of Art, has signed up to the Addictive Sketchers Movement to help pupils on our popular Tuesday Sketch Club brush up their artistic skills and learn new techniques. The movement is headed by @addictivesketcher Adebanji Alade, president of The Royal Institute of Oil Painters, and his expertise is already proving inspirational judging by the amazing portraits the children have already produced. #TogetherWeGrow #Art #AddictiveSketchersMovement #CreativeArts #PrivateSchoolsInHampshire
Curious Year 3 have been gripped by festival fever in Spanish today. Having discovered the amazing sights and sounds connected with the annual Las Fallas festival in Valencia, the children worked in small groups to create colourful and informative posters depicting the history, food, fireworks and colourful traditions surrounding the 19 days of Las Fallas, which celebrates the arrival of spring and pays tribute to St Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. #TogetherWeGrow #LearningSpanish #LasFallasFestival #PrivateSchool #ModernForeignLanguages #BoardingSchoolsInHampshire
Our determined young swimmers last night made it seven years unbeaten in inter-school galas after a dazzling display against valiant visitors @stedmundshindhead. With competition close in the early stages, Highfield and Brookham’s strength in depth tolled. The 51-point margin of victory was all the more remarkable as, in the absence of Year 7 swimmers who were visiting the @natural_history_museum, our Year 6 children swam up an age group. We now look forward to our final two galas of another busy and brilliant season in the pool – against @cranleighprepschool and @stivesschoolhaslemere. #TogetherWeGrow #SwimmingGala #MakingASplash #PrepSchoolSport #BoardingSchoolsInHampshire
Looking for a unique and nurturing educational environment where your child can truly thrive? The countdown to our next Open Morning on Friday 14th March is on and we can’t wait to meet all the prospective parents. Why not come along and see for yourself? Simply click the link bit.ly/4k2iFbL to reserve your spot. We look forward to welcoming you. #OpenMorning #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex