Our Pre-Prep
Childhood is a time for fun and discovery through a wealth of learning opportunities. Our Pre-Prep is a special and unique place. Our aim is to give children the best possible start to their educational pathway, where friendships are made, individual academic excellence is achieved and happy memories are created. 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. Children in our Pre-Prep develop their social, emotional and cognitive skills through play-based activities. Every day your child will have to opportunity to apply what they have learnt in the classroom to activities in their shared areas or out in our fabulous 175-acre grounds. These hands-on opportunities give your child’s learning meaning and a grounding in the real world.
Our Pre-Prep children visit forest school several times a week. It provides a stimulating and engaging environment that encourages exploration, creativity and curiosity. Through being outdoors your child will develop an appreciation for the environment. They will learn to understand the significant impact they can have on sustainability for themselves and future generations by learning about environmental issues and taking meaningful actions to reduce their carbon footprint. We are fortunate to have two libraries at school and one is reserved for exclusive use by our Pre-Prep children. It has been carefully curated to instil a love of books and reading in all our children and to help your child to discover the magic that books bring, inspiring them in every topic from expeditions and exercise to Fairtrade and faraway places. Storytime and our robust phonics programme will help your child to develop crucial skills such as communication and comprehension.
Alongside the core curriculum, in the Pre-Prep your child will enjoy weekly swimming lessons in additional to their games and PE lessons. They will develop a positive attitude toward exercise and will grow to understand that a healthy body means a healthy mind, helping your child gain insight on how they learn best. A Pre-Prep education is one to be cherished. It is a time to develop the foundations for a love of learning where challenges are seen as positive experiences and every activity is approached with a smile, laughter and a can-do attitude.
Seeing the pre-prep children jump into wellies and waterproof trousers in record time and charge out to break was fabulous.
What we’re up to…
We’re incredibly lucky to have teachers who don’t just encourage our children to follow their passions, but lead by example too! A huge good luck to our very own @sumattingly, who is representing South Africa at the World Cup Masters Hockey Championships. 🏑 Su and the RSA team play their first match tonight. Let’s give Su a big Highfield and Brookham cheer in the comments 👏
“Education is facing one of the most significant periods of change in a generation.” Earlier this year, our Raising the Future conference brought together voices from across education and beyond to consider how we can better prepare young people for the world ahead. The resulting White Paper was shared with the Government, and now the Department for Education has responded. It’s encouraging to see many of the issues we raised reflected in the Government’s plans for curriculum reform, particularly around digital literacy and preparing young people for their futures. But we believe change needs to happen faster. 🔗Read the Government’s response and our Head Suzannah Cryer’s reflections here:
The sound of drums echoed around Highreach yesterday as our Rock and Pop adventure continued! 🥁 The children proudly paraded a flag they had decorated earlier in the day, before raising it together to begin the celebrations. Everyone then joined in with the drummers, discovering the power of rhythm and filling Highfield School with lively music!
The musical adventure continued at Highreach yesterday with an energetic drumming workshop! 🥁 Led by the sounds of the drums, the children proudly paraded a flag they had decorated earlier in the day before raising it. Then it was time to discover the power of rhythm as everyone joined in with the drummers, filling Highfield with lively music! 🎶 #HighfieldHighreachHolidays #MusicWorkshop #Drumming
Highreach has begun! 💛 We’re delighted to once again welcome Highreach Holidays to Highfield and Brookham for a very special week. Over the coming days, children will enjoy a packed programme of activities and exciting day trips, all made possible by an incredible team of volunteers and the generosity of our school community. We can’t wait to share more from the week!
Celebrating our girls. 💙 A huge congratulations to Year 8 pupils Olivia and Phoebe, who have been recognised following this year’s IAPS National Prep Athletics Championships. 🎉 Olivia won silver in the U14 High Jump, while she and Phoebe were also recognised after qualifying for the national finals for three consecutive years. Together, they were part of a team of seven Highfield & Brookham girls who represented the school on the national stage. We’re so proud of every one of them. 🔗Tap the link in our bio to read the full story.
Celebrating our girls. 💙 A huge congratulations to Year 8 pupils Olivia and Phoebe, who have been recognised following this year’s IAPS National Prep Athletics Championships. 🎉 Olivia brought home a silver medal in the U14 High Jump, while she and Phoebe were also recognised for qualifying for the national finals for three consecutive years. A brilliant reward for years of hard work and commitment to their sport. They were part of a fantastic team of seven Highfield & Brookham girls who represented the school brilliantly. We couldn’t be prouder of every one of them! Read the full story ➡️
Our Nature Days Holiday Club with Corylus Collective spent some time weaving with lavender, rosemary and other natural materials collected from around the school grounds. The different textures and beautiful scents made it a particularly calming activity, giving children the chance to slow down while using plenty of concentration to weave each stem into place. 🌿
Sometimes creativity isn’t about what you make, it’s about how it makes you feel. Using lavender rosemary and other natural materials collected from around the school grounds, our Nature Crafting Holiday Club spent time creating their own woven artwork. 🌿 The scent of the herbs, the different textures and the chance to slow down made it a really calming activity. As they worked, children were also developing patience, concentration and fine motor skills, carefully weaving each stem into place. #IndependentSchool #HolidayClub #Hampshire #NatureCraft #WellbeingActivity
🎭 Does your child love to perform or simply want to give something new a go? Join our talented LAMDA teacher, Susannah Wilson, for a day of creativity at our Performing Arts Holiday Club. Children will explore acting, movement and musical theatre in a relaxed, supportive environment, whether they’re stepping onto the stage for the first time or already love to perform. 📍 Highfield & Brookham School, Liphook 💷 £70 Book your place here: https://highfieldandbrookham.co.uk/school-plus/holiday-activity-clubs/summer-holiday-2026-booking-form/
Yesterday’s Nature Crafting Holiday Club with Corylus Collective made the most of the sunshine, creating beautiful flower shadow art. ☀️🌼 The children explored the grounds to find flowers and plants that caught their eye, then used the shadows they cast to create their own unique artwork. Every piece turned out differently, shaped by the flowers they found and the way the light fell. It was lovely to see children who’d never met before work alongside each other – helping each other keep flowers in place as the wind had other ideas! Taking that first step to make a new friend takes its own kind of courage 💚 And we’re glad that our Holiday Clubs bring children together to do just that.
🗳️ Voting for the Tatler Schools Guide 2026 Awards is now open! We’re incredibly proud of the school we’ve built together and think Highfield is worth shouting about, but it’s always wonderful to hear that from you too! If you’d like to support Highfield, we’d be so grateful for your vote. Whether you’re part of our community or simply want to support us, everyone is welcome to vote 💙 Know someone who’d like to support us too? Please share this post with them. 🗓️ Voting closes on 29th August 2026, the winners announced in September. Voting link: https://shorturl.at/KcBLC
🗳️ Voting for the Tatler Schools Guide 2026 Awards is now open! We’re incredibly proud of the school we’ve built together and think Highfield is worth shouting about, but it’s always wonderful to hear that from you too! If you’d like to support Highfield, we’d be so grateful for your vote. Whether you’re part of our community or simply want to support us, everyone is welcome to vote 💙 Know someone who’d like to support us too? Please share this post with them. 🗓️ Voting closes on 29th August 2026, the winners announced in September. 🔗 Voting link in our bio. #TatlerSchoolAwards #IndependentSchool #SchoolCommunity
The best way to finish a week of Nature Days Holiday Club? Around the campfire with s’mores. 🔥 After learning with @coryluscollective about what a fire needs to burn, how to build one safely and the rules for staying safe around it, the children gathered around the campfire to put it all into practice. Giving children the chance to do things for themselves is a big part of Nature Days, especially when it comes with a toasted marshmallow at the end!
Houston, we have no problems… just lots of crating! 🚀 It would be easy to think crafting is just about the finished creation, but it’s the skills built along the way that really matter. Threading cord for macramé for example, builds hand-eye coordination and precision, the kind our children rely on in sport, DT and everyday tasks. Our holiday clubs are full of moments like this, skills that quietly build in the background! #IndependentSchool #Liphook #HolidayClubs #IndependentSkills #Crafting
Today’s Bushcraft challenge? Whittling their own bows and arrows from scratch. Turns out there’s more technique to it than you’d think. Too much curve and the wood snaps, too little and it won’t shoot at all, so they had to keep testing the bend as they went rather than guessing. It takes a fair bit of trial and error, but we love seeing them stick with it until that first arrow actually flies. In a world where so much happens on a screen, there’s real value in learning practical skills and discovering what you can create with your own hands!
Today at Bushcraft Holiday Club, the children learned how to weave their own survival keyrings. It took patience to master the technique, but by the end of the session they had made something genuinely useful. The paracord can replace a broken shoelace, help build a shelter or even secure a hammock! In a world where so much happens on a screen, there’s real value in knowing how to make something useful with your hands. #IndependentSchool #PracticalSkills #OutdoorSkills #HolidayClub #Bushcraft
Dragons have had quite a year at Highfield! First in Shrek and now in our Crafting Holiday Activity Club with @feltybee_crafts 🐉 Using needle felting, the children shaped their very own dragons, a fiddly process that took patience and plenty of concentration. It just goes to show, real magic takes a bit of hard work! #IndependentSchool #PrepSchool #HolidayClub #IndependentLearning #Crafting