Together we learn

Our Nursery

For many children, attending Nursery is the first time they spend significant time away from home. For that reason it is vital that the setting they attend makes them feel happy, secure and valued. Furthermore it is such an important time for your child to develop learning characteristics that will set them up for their educational journey ahead. It is where it all begins and a time of limitless exploration and growth. These early years are fundamental to embed learning habits and develop confidence.

We are an independent Nursery, Pre-Prep and Prep School in Liphook, situated in 175 acres of stunning grounds in the South Downs National Park on the borders of Hampshire, Surrey and West Sussex. Our vision is to teach children to collaborate, to be resourceful and to take charge of their own learning and to provide a welcoming environment in which to do so. We plan a curriculum that cultivates good habits and attitudes that will enable your child to become an eager and courageous learner. As your child progresses through the Nursery years, they will develop into a tenacious, imaginative and logical child who is self-aware, collaborative and inquisitive. The foundations of all of these traits are put in place from the moment your child walks through the Nursery door for the very first time. Above all, we aim to make your child’s time in Nursery a joyous experience. During their time with us their imagination will grow, their thoughts will become more complex and their understanding of the world around will unfold. The aim of our Nursery is to instil a love of learning that will set them up for the rest of their life.

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Core Education

Our Nursery timetable is predominantly led by the children’s interests and is made up of mainly child-led learning time as well as forest school. Our expert Nursery Practitioners curate a wide range of activities for your child to engage with to help them develop prime development areas:

Communication and language
Physical development
Personal, social and emotional development
Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the world
Expressive arts and design

At Highfield and Brookham, we pride ourselves on our impressive breadth of curriculum, supplying your child with plenty of new skills to discover. Alongside your child’s core education, they will be taught by our specialist subject teachers in swimming, PE, gymnastics, music and Spanish.

Child-initiated

Here at Highfield and Brookham, we have a real passion for and belief in child-initiated learning based on extensive research on how young children learn best. Your child will make decisions about what they want to do, where they want to do it, and what resources they will need. Crucially, the teachers participate as play partners identifying learning opportunities and skilfully responding to the children rather than leading the activities. This is all made possible because of our high staff-to-child ratios. It’s only when your child starts to apply independently what they have learnt that we know they have truly understood and engaged with what they have been taught.

We love the nursery and could not be happier that we chose it for our children.

Outdoor Learning

There is a plethora of evidence in support of outdoor learning and at Highfield and Brookham we see the proof of this every single day. Each of our Nursery rooms has direct access to our wonderful Nursery garden, which is fully equipped with a giant sandpit, mud kitchen and vegetable patch. Your child’s imagination will know no bounds as they explore and discover wonderful new things inside and out. Come rain or shine your child will be able to decide to go outdoors whenever they like, and we know that the lure of splashing in puddles or making mud pies means that children want to go outside whatever the weather. This is why waterproofs and wellington boots are staples in the Nursery wardrobe. One of the most popular activities in the garden is growing vegetables. Your child will plant, water and care for a variety of vegetables in the Nursery garden and, best of all, they will also get to harvest the produce and cook it in their very own kitchen.

With 175 acres of beautiful grounds, outdoor learning at Highfield and Brookham really has no limits. Your child will relish their time in their dedicated space at forest school, which is just a stone’s throw from their classroom door. Here they are free to explore and roam in our wondrous woodland as they hunt for the most magical minibeasts, build the most extravagant dens and craft the most elaborate leaf crowns. We want to engender a love of wildlife and respect for the natural environment in your child.

Free Flow

Your child will enjoy the freedom of free flow across all three of our Nursery rooms for a large proportion of the day. This is where all the children come together and are given the independence to explore their environment. During this time the younger children learn from their older peers, enhancing their language development and communication. Simultaneously, the older children learn valuable skills such as empathy as they take on the position of role models for their younger classmates. This combination of dedicated and shared space is a key factor in your child’s personal, emotional and educational growth.

Open-ended Resources

Our Nursery is purposefully equipped with an exciting variety of open-ended resources for your child to discover. The classrooms are carefully kitted out with blocks, loose parts and modelling resources. A toy fire engine is always a fire engine, but a pile of bricks could be an aeroplane carrying an important guest, a rocket on the hunt for life on mars or even an underground tunnel leading to an undiscovered land. The only limitation is your child’s imagination.

Food

We take food very seriously at Highfield and Brookham and your child will quickly find out why. We hire a fantastic Catering Team who keep your child’s energy at the optimum level so they can fully engage with everything that Nursery has to offer. At 10am your child will enjoy a morning snack on the carpet with their friends. This usually consists of fruit or a slice of our delicious homemade, reduced-sugar banana loaf.

Lunchbreak for our Nursery children is at 11.45am. The Tiny Bears, our very youngest children, enjoy lunch in their room, The Den, before settling down for a much-needed lunchtime nap. Our Little Bears and Big Bears don their gingham smocks and head across the courtyard to the main dining hall. Your child’s lunch is freshly prepared on site by our in-house chefs. Children are served at the table and always have the option to ask for more if they want it.

Mid-afternoon, children gather back on the carpet with the other Nursery children to enjoy a well-earned rest and snack. Cheese and crackers, sandwiches or breadsticks and humous are usually on offer to see them through to tea time.

Rooms

There are three specialist rooms in our Nursery – The Den, Woodlands and Meadows. The Den is home to our youngest cohort, Tiny Bears. This dedicated area, designed especially for our youngest children, allows your child to undertake age-appropriate activities which help them to develop independence, imagination and communication at a pace that is just right for them. Importantly, there is a dedicated space for your child to have their valuable daytime nap if they need it to ensure they are rejuvenated and ready for their afternoon adventures.

At the age of three, and when they are developmentally ready, your child will move up to either Meadows or Woodlands. Both rooms have a managed mix of our Little Bears and Big Bears so they can grow and learn together.

Logistics

Our Nursery is open for 35 weeks of the year. We welcome children from the age of two when they attend for a minimum of two mornings per week. As your child progresses into their final Nursery year, they will attend a minimum of three mornings per week, with lunch. This extended week helps with their readiness for the transition to Reception.

The morning sessions in Nursery run from 8.20am to 11.20am. You can choose for your child to stay for lunch, which the children take in our main dining hall at 11.45am. Collection is after lunch is at 12.20pm or 3.20pm if your child is staying for the full day.

Your child may attend on any days of the week where we have availability, and in any combination of morning, morning with lunch and full day sessions, up to full time, five days a week.

The Nursery Week

7.30am Breakfast club (Optional £)
8am Before-school care
8.20am Doors open
11.45am Lunch break

3.20pm School day ends
3.30pm After-school care (Optional £)
4.30pm Picnic tea and play (Optional £)
6.30pm Last pick up

Drop off

The doors to our Nursery are open for children at 8.20am. We know and completely understand that mornings can be busy for many families, with parents juggling school drop off, work and other commitments. It’s important that your child’s start to the day is calm and stress free to set them up for a successful say of learning. That’s why we offer an earlier 8am drop off option for those families who need it, at no extra charge.

Many of our families make use of our breakfast club, which opens for our Nursery children at 7.30am. Breakfast Club takes place in the main dining hall and your child will be spoilt for choice for what to have for breakfast. There is always a hot option such as beans on toast as well cereal, porridge, yoghurt, toast and fresh fruit. A truly hearty breakfast to kickstart them for their busy day in Nursery.

After School

The Nursery day draws to a close at 3.20pm. We have excellent after-school care provision that covers you if you need a later pick up.

As part of the after-school care programme, your child will have a fantastic choice of games and activities at their disposal. After-school care runs until 4.30pm.

For those families who need a later collection time we offer our ‘picnic tea and play’ session. A high tea will be served at 5pm with a selection of sandwiches, crudités, fromage frais and fruit on offer. Your child will be looked after until 6.30pm if required.

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Book a visit

Pre-Prep

Prep School

Admissions

What we’re up to

10 hours ago

Well, we couldn’t let the children have all the fun. Check out some of the amazing costumes our teachers created for #WorldBookDay2025 – including our Head, Suzannah Cryer, who brought Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox to life. World Book Day is a time that brings our whole community together and a real highlight of the school year. #WorldBookDay #FantasticMrFox #TeacherCostumes #SchoolFun #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook

1202

10 hours ago

What an exciting day of literary magic as the whole school came together to celebrate World Book Day. With an amazing array of book-inspired costumes and a wonderful celebration of books and the joy of reading, it was a day to remember. The morning assembly was truly inspiring, with pupils and teachers alike sharing quotes, songs and excerpts from beloved stories like Harry Potter, The Hungry Caterpillar, The Tiger Who Came to Tea, Wicked, Wind in the Willows, Oliver Twist, Mary Poppins and even Shakespeare. Afterwards, our Prep children had the chance to read one-on-one with our Pre-Prep and Nursery children in the glorious sunshine. A magical day full of stories, laughter and the wonderful world of reading. #WorldBookDay #LiteraryMagic #ReadingIsFun #BookLovers #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook

220

10 hours ago

What an exciting day of literary magic as the whole school came together to celebrate #WorldBookDay. With an amazing array of book-inspired costumes to a wonderful celebration of books and the joy of reading, it really has been a day to remember. The morning assembly was truly inspiring, with pupils and teachers alike sharing quotes, songs and excerpts from beloved stories like Harry Potter, The Hungry Caterpillar, The Tiger Who Came to Tea, Wicked, Wind in the Willows, Oliver Twist, Mary Poppins and even Shakespeare. Afterwards, our Prep children had the chance to read one-to-one with our Pre-Prep and Nursery children in the glorious sunshine. A magical day full of stories, laughter and the wonder of reading. #WorldBookDay #LiteraryMagic #ReadingIsFun #BookLovers #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook

1000

1 days ago

Under sunny skies this afternoon, we’ve been treated to a veritable feast of girls’ football, with six schools joining us for some healthy competition. Thank you to all the Year 7 and Year 8 players and coaches from Amesbury School, Cranleigh Prep, Edgeborough School, St. Edmund’s School, Surrey, Twyford School, Hampshire and Westbourne House School for helping make it such a wonderful afternoon of prep-school sport. #TogetherWeGrow #PrepSchoolSport #GirlsFootball #GrassrootsFootball #SchoolsInHampshire

160

2 days ago

We’ve teamed up again with our friends from @haslemerebookshop this week to introduce a wealth of new reading material to our eager young bookworms. The children have been busy thumbing through fiction, non-fiction and easy-reading titles at our ever-popular annual book fair with a view to finding exciting new books to take home. #TogetherWeGrow #BookFair #WeLoveToRead #WeLoveBooks #SchoolsInHampshire #DayAndBoardingSchoolsInHampshire

280

2 days ago

Our ads are popping up at railway stations from Petersfield to London Waterloo! Have you seen one on your travels? Snap a pic and tag us — we’d love to see them. #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #BeYou

1000

2 days ago

What goes up must come down… #TogetherWeGrow #PancakeDay #PancakeRaces #ShroveTuesday #SchoolsInHampshire #Nursery

460

3 days ago

Inquisitive pre-prep children used a trip to a well-known motoring and aviation museum to take their studies on travel and transport trends onto the next level. Brooklands Museum #TogetherWeGrow #TravelAndTransport #LearningAwayFromTheClassroom #SchoolsInHampshire #VintageVehicles

3 days ago

On the run up to World Book Day on Thursday, our pre-prep children were treated to a visit from the brilliant Jonty Howley, author and illustrator of children’s books. Jonty wowed the children with not only his interactive reading of Come Out, Come Out, Chameleon! but also his prowess on the ukulele while performing The Animal Song. What a great way to start the week! #TogetherWeGrow #WorldBookDay #JontyHowley #SchoolsInHampshire

230

4 days ago

It’s an absolute pleasure to honour our brilliant team on World Boarding Staff Day. We couldn’t wish for a more dedicated, hardworking, caring and professional bunch to look after our boarders year round in their home away from home. #TogetherWeGrow #WorldBoardingStaffDay #BoardingSchoolsInHampshire #TogetherWeCare @bsaboarding

1390

6 days ago

Thinking about an independent co-ed school for your child? Come and explore Highfield and Brookham School on Friday 14th March. Discover our beautiful grounds, inspiring teachers and pupils and unique approach to education. Take a tour with some of our Year 8 pupils and see first-hand how we help children thrive from ages 2 to 13. Save your spot for our Open Morning today. Link in the bio above. #OpenMorning #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex

180

6 days ago

In case you didn’t know, we welcome dogs on site on sports fixture match days but they must be kept on a lead at all times for the safety of the children. #TogetherWeGrow #SchoolsInHampshire #MatchDays #DogsOfHighfieldAndBrookham

580

6 days ago

Sensei Matt, from Petersfield Karate Club, has today put our pre-prep children through their paces, focusing on disciplined punching, blocking, balance, coordination and flexibility. The popular extra-curricular activity builds self-confidence and teaches basic self-defense skills, as well as enhancing focus and concentration and instilling respect for others. #TogetherWeGrow #ExtraCurricularClubs #Karate #SelfDefence #SchoolsInHampshire

101

6 days ago

We’ve got some fantastic clubs to keep your children entertained over the Easter holidays! Choose from cookery or multi-sports, try your hand at karate or gymnastics, or enjoy a relaxing day crafting. Whatever club you choose, your children are guaranteed to have fun learning new skills and making new friends. Find out more and book ➡️bit.ly/3D2vVMV #EasterHolidayClubs #FunForChildren #HolidayActivities #EasterFun #BookNow

1 weeks ago

There’s so much you can do with the humble piece of wood. Luckily, we’re surrounded by tons of it! Whenever you drop into our beloved forest school, you’ll always find our children busy undertaking a specific woodland activity or using their imaginations to learn through play. Today, we had it all; with wood of all shapes and sizes used for whittling, as a handy spear for collecting leaves, for den building, for gentle sword-fighting play, for building bug hotels, and even for making a superb see-saw. #TogetherWeGrow #OutdoorLearning #ForestSchool #WondersOfWood #SparkingImaginations #SchoolsInHampshire

480

1 weeks ago

Mindful of the importance of keeping fit and healthy, our Nursery children are shaping up nicely. Today, under the expert eye of Mrs Oecken and Mr Underwood, the youngsters showed true agility as they tackled a number of gym disciplines aimed at strengthening their shoulders and improving their co-ordination. #TogetherWeGrow #KeepingFit #InTheGym #SchoolsInHampshire #HealthyChildren

120

1 weeks ago

It’s been another superb afternoon of prep school sport, highlighted by the return of the girls to the football pitches. We were treated to the perfect blend of sublime skills, determined defending, great goals and tremendous teamwork as we hosted our friends from Twyford School, Hampshire and @Westbourne House School. Arguably best of all, the games were played in a wonderful spirit win, lose or draw. #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeCompete #PrepSchoolSport #GirlsFootball #GrassrootsFootball #RuralBoardingSchools

170

1 weeks ago

Looking for an exciting way to keep your children entertained over the Easter holidays? Our Holiday Clubs are packed with fun, adventure and creativity and offer children the chance to learn new skills, make new friends and have fun. We’ve got some fantastic clubs running at Easter, such as Nature Crafting, Performing Arts, Golf, Multi-Sports and many more. Spaces do fill up very quickly, so head to the link in our bio to find out more and book. #EasterHolidayClubs #FunForChildren #HolidayActivities #EasterFun #BookNow

1 weeks ago

Explore Highfield and Brookham School at Our Open Morning. Join us on Friday 14th March, for an exclusive look at our school. With stunning grounds, a diverse curriculum and teachers dedicated to bringing out the best in each child, we create a nurturing and inspirational environment. Our focus is on allowing children to be themselves and discover who they are as individuals. What more could you want for your child’s education? Come and experience it for yourself. Chat with our Head and Year 8 pupils and see why we’re so proud of our incredible school. Simply click the link bit.ly/4k2iFbL to reserve your spot – we look forward to welcoming you. #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #CountryEducation #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #OpenMorning

1 weeks ago

The rain has finally stopped, the rugby posts have been put away and the goalposts are up in readiness for the new girls’ football season, which kicks off tomorrow when we welcome our friends from @twyfordschool and @westbournehouseschool. #TogetherWeGrow #GirlsFootball #PrepSchoolSport #SchoolsInHampshire #GrassrootsFootball

492

1 weeks ago

As part of their project looking at the transatlantic slave trade, Year 7 were tasked with designing an exhibit for the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool. They researched a variety topics, including the Middle Passage and the punishment of slaves, as well as reviewing artefacts that they felt were of interest and important to their exhibits. They then pitched their ideas to their peers to explain why they felt their work should be included in the museum’s exhibition. #TogetherWeGrow #SlaveTrade #SlaveryThroughHistory #SchoolsInHampshire #HistoryBroughtToLife

2 weeks ago

We’ve got all of our fingers crossed for Louis O and Rupert B this afternoon as they tackle the second and final paper of this year’s Townsend-Warner History Prize. More than 1,250 pupils from all over the country sat paper one, which consisted of 100 questions demanding one-word or one-sentence answers from world history, but with a strong emphasis on British history. Rupert (88th) and Louis (133rd) were among the 250 qualifiers for today’s final paper, which was was in the form of essay questions which enable the candidates to demonstrate analytical skill and historical imagination. #TogetherWeGrow #TownsendWarnerHistoryPrize #LoveOfHistory #SchoolsInHampshire #AcademicProwess

750

2 weeks ago

We are truly spoilt by having so many wonderful people who teach our children such a wide variety of life skills. Sophie Neish, a passionate and accomplished chef, can regularly be found in the kitchen during the school holidays, as well as leading extra-curricular cookery during term time, imparting her vast culinary knowledge to eager young people from Year 4 to Year 6. #TogetherWeGrow #CookeryCourses #CookingUpAStorm #SchoolsInHampshire #CulinaryExpertise

350

2 weeks ago

Our young chefs have once again been cooking up a storm in the pavilion today, making not one, not two, but three lovely dishes and desserts. With a nod to Easter being just around the corner, the children on our half-term cookery course produced some tasty hot cross buns to accompany mouthwatering Singapore noodles and choc chip muffins. #TogetherWeGrow #SchoolHolidayCourses #Cookery #SchoolsInHampshire

110

2 weeks ago

Congratulations to Year 7 pupils Grace Craig and Annie Yang, who jointly picked up the Art Effort of the Month award for February for their amazing renditions of American artist Roy Lichtenstein’s colourful and dramatic pop art work. #TogetherWeGrow #PrepSchoolArt #CreativeArts #SchoolsInHampshire #TalentedPupils #Art

401

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Together we learn

Nursery

Our Nursery

Core Education

Child-initiated

Outdoor Learning

Free Flow

Open-ended Resources

Food

Rooms

Logistics

Drop off

After School

Pre-Prep

Prep School

Admissions

What we’re up to

view all news

view all news

Open Morning - Friday 14th March